On Our Minds

Details: Published: 01 August 2010; Created: 01 August 2010; Last Updated: 01 August 2010; Hits: 5048

On Sunday, July 11 the Scarsdale Public Library hosted a small ceremony to dedicate its new bench, chair, and planter in honor of Dr. Howard Rapaport, Elizabeth Rapaport, and Lois Rapaport Shugar. The furniture set was a gift to the library from the Shugar and Rapaport families, and the ceremony was attended by family members and friends.

The Rapaport family has been present in Scarsdale since 1944, and from 1944 to 2005, seventeen Rapaports attended Scarsdale schools. Amy Shugar, Lois Rapaport Shugar’s daughter and Howard and Elizabeth Rapaport’s granddaughter, spoke at the ceremony about the library’s strong presence in her family’s life. She remembers the library as “a place where our mother used to bring us for the children’s readings, puppet shows, music and art classes, as our grandmother did for her.”

Amy Shugar first considered donating to the library following a conversation with Lois Rapaport Shugar. “When [we] lost our mother so suddenly last year, we knew this was the first thing that [we] wanted to do in her memory. She loved the library, loved Scarsdale, loved to read and shared everything with us,” said Shugar.

Library Director Beth Bermel thanked the families for their generous gift, which will be enjoyed by Scarsdale residents for many years, and noted that their donation reflects the important role the library exerts in the life of the community. The seating is located in the library’s courtyard for all to enjoy.

Pictured on Bench - Henriette and Thibaut Desmoures

Details: Published: 26 July 2010; Created: 26 July 2010; Last Updated: 26 July 2010; Hits: 4850

Gabriela and Giuliana Di Domenico

According to a recent study by the Johns Hopkins’ Center for Summer Learning the average student loses approximately 2.6 months of grade level equivalency in reading and math skills over the summer, But, here in Scarsdale more than 300 children are fighting this trend. They are participating in the Scarsdale Public Library’s annual Summer Reading Game and proving that one of the best ways to combat the loss is to keep reading year round.

“The program helps kids improve their school work, develop lifelong reading habits, and even awards prizes to participants in the process,” says children’s librarian Karen Zielinski. Since the game commenced on June 25, 315 children have registered to play and 1,295 books have been read. The game’s players range from pre-readers, infants whose parents read to them, to sixth graders. “We expect even more to sign up,” Zielinski says. “In previous years, additional children join the game as the summer progresses.” The game ends on August 14. Last year, the program had 265 participants.

The Summer Reading Game is easily played by children at home or away for the summer. Students are encouraged to read whatever books interest them and can record their books as they are reading them, or all at once at their convenience.

Seven (soon to be eight) year old Brooke Paykian describes the game as “fun” and “easy.” She was pleased to find out that she could read her favorite mystery series, David Adler’s Cam Jansen, for the game. Another popular series being read by participants is The 39 Clues, an ongoing mystery series written by well-known children’s authors Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Peter Lerangis, Jude Watson, Patrick Carman, Linda Sue Park, and Margaret Peterson Haddix. Rick Riordan’s other series, the historically based Kane Chronicles and Lightening Thief, are also enjoying popularity among this year’s readers.

Children can still sign up for the game, either online (through a link on the library website, www.scarsdalelibrary.org) or at the library’s Children’s Desk. After registering, participants will receive a free Start-Up Kit, including fun activities, the rules and a reading journal. Participants are eligible to win exciting prizes and a weekly ice cream raffle.

Zielinski notes that playing the Summer Reading Game is a great way for kids to have fun, continue good reading practices and be ready when school starts.

Details: Published: 14 June 2010; Created: 14 June 2010; Last Updated: 14 June 2010; Hits: 4150

Author Sony Chung will lead a discussion about her new book, Long For This World at the Scarsdale Library on Monday evening June 28. Chung teaches fiction writing at NYU and the Gotham Writer’s Workshop and this fall she will join the full-time faculty of Columbia University’s Creative Writing Program. Her stories, reviews and essays have appeared in numerous literary journals and she was a nominee for the Pushcart Prize. In Long for this World, published by Simon and Schuster, Chung tells the story of a family divided between contemporary America and a small Korean town. To learn more about the book and see a video of Chung, click here:

Registration is required, so if you wish to attend please sign up at the reference desk at the Scarsdale Library.

Here is a description of the book from Library Journal: The title of Chung's exquisite novel seems to be missing a word: "not long for this world" would be the easy, expected phrase. But little is easy or expected in this multilayered story of two brothers—one Korean and the other who chooses to become Korean American—and their scattered families, whose lives converge in a perfectly blended East/West house on a faraway Korean island. When Han Hyun-ku unexpectedly arrives at his younger brother's home, he is escaping an American life circumscribed by a detached wife and troubled son. His exhausted daughter, Jane, a renowned photojournalist of death and destruction, follows her missing father. Strangers that they are even among family, father and daughter are gratefully absorbed into a seemingly easy rhythm, but the temporary peace cannot ease inevitable tragedy. "Some people are not long for this world," Jane remarks. "The rest of us survive."

Sonya Chung
Scarsdale Public Library
Monday Night June 28th
7:00 – 8:30 PM

Details: Published: 20 July 2010; Created: 20 July 2010; Last Updated: 22 July 2010; Hits: 4643

Book Donations Wanted

The Friends of the Greenburgh Library are now accepting donations for their annual sale that will take place October 1 through October 5. The group is seeking donations that include hardcover books (with dust jacket); paperback books, music CDs and DVDs. Donations can be dropped off in the vestibule of the Greenburgh Public Library, located at 300 Tarrytown Road, in Elmsford during normal Library hours beginning July 21.

All donations should be in very good condition. Encyclopedias, text books, magazines such as National Geographic, outdated computer books, cassettes and VHS movies will not be accepted. Make your donations now and then plan to attend one of the largest book sales in the area between October 1 and October 5. There will be a special “members only” evening at the sale on the Friday, October 1.

Applications for membership are accepted anytime and will also be accepted on the evening of October 1. Annual membership in the Friends of the Greenburgh Library costs $5.00 and applications are available online at http://greenburghlibrary.org/friends.php or in the Library. Should you have questions about donations or about the book sale, please call (914) 761-4443 or email: Elly1@aol.com.

Details: Published: 02 June 2010; Created: 02 June 2010; Last Updated: 02 June 2010; Hits: 4171

Austin Ken Kutscher '69

In Watching Walter Cronkite, Austin Ken Kutscher, M.D., reflects on how our lives were shaped by the transformative events of the 1950s and 1960s. As we celebrate our first African-American president, Barack Obama, in a world where American soldiers are still fighting wars halfway across the globe and where the threat of nuclear weapons still exists, generations both young and old need to understand the past events that were so instrumental in shaping our lives today. Kutscher, a Scarsdale High School alum will discuss his book at the Scarsdale Public Library at 3 PM on Sunday, June 13th.

Watching Walter Cronkite had its beginning when Dr. Kutscher realized his teenage daughter was part of a generation, born after 1980, oblivious to issues that have been the foundation of their parents' ideals. Using the historical events of the era of the '50s and '60s as a backdrop, Dr. Kutscher has fashioned a moving memoir of his experiences as a public school and college student, as he tried to make his mark in the world after his Mom had died of breast cancer. He shares not only his personal joys and sorrows, but also the parallel adolescent reminiscences of his wife, Mary Ellen. Their personal journeys are representative of everyday Baby Boomers who were never featured on the CBS Evening News. As Dr. Kutscher recounts our country's pains during the '60s — a decade filled with a tragic war and social and racial injustice — he also brings to life the electrifying feelings of the music of love and protest and the scientific achievements of our nation, not to mention the spirit of the New York Mets' "Miracle" World Series victory in 1969.

Watching Walter Cronkite will resonate deeply with older generations of Americans, as they recall the dizzying array of events that unfolded nightly on their TV screens—including the assassinations of the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King, Jr., the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, the anti-war movement, the counter-culture, the Woodstock Festival, and the crowning achievement of the 1960s—the Apollo XI Moon landing.

By chronicling our lives against this historic period, Dr. Kutscher hopes we can find peace and redemption in the turbulent times through which we are now living—and that we can explore, as did Neil Armstrong, our own "Sea of Tranquility."

Scarsdale Public Library
Sunday June 13th
3:00 PM