The Library Spotlight

Over a century ago, the State of New York was gifted the Adirondack home of Abolitionists John and Mary Brown on the condition that it be used “for the purpose of a public park or reservation forever.” Today, John Brown Lives! is both the official friends group of the 250-acre state historic site abutting the High Peaks Forest Preserve, and a freedom education and human rights project active in the North Country. Long-time ADK members Benita Law-Diao and Jeff Jones are also JBL! board members and human rights activists. Influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement, their presentation will focus on the group’s programs and activities designed to bring fresh awareness to the Farm’s role in Adirondack, New York and U.S. history. Co-sponsored by the Adirondack Mountain Club. Please register online here.

Fall is the perfect time to prepare your garden for winter and get a jump start on a beautiful spring garden. Join Suzanne Balet Haight of Balet Flowers and Design for tips on essential garden tasks you can do now to protect your plantings and enhance your gardens next spring and summer. Registration is required. Please register online here.

This online program uses the Zoom livestreaming platform. It will require access to a computer, mobile device with the Zoom app installed, and/or a phone for audio-only access. Registration with an email is required in order to receive information about how to connect. The email will be sent three (3) hours prior to the scheduled start time of the program.

Saratoga Springs Public Library is proud to announce that the digital exhibit of the Saratoga County Oral History Project is now available on the Library’s website. The Saratoga County Oral History Project has been a collaboration of the Library, the Saratoga Springs City Historian, The Saratoga County Historian and the Saratoga County History Center at Brookside Museum.

The interactive exhibit highlights several interviews with Community members whose voices and stories were initially captured on what was the technology of the time- cassette tapes. The taped interviews, which have been languishing on shelves for many years before recently being digitized, offer poignant insights into how people came to live in the area and what their families’ experiences were like. The stories offer glimpses into life on the Brookside Dairy Farm in Greenfield, the early days of Mt. McGregor as a tuberculosis hospital, reminiscences of the early Pitney Farm, and a description of the development of the Saratoga Spa as a medical facility.

Also featured are several interviews that are part of the West Side Oral Narrative Collection- interviews from that collection commemorating the Feast of St Michael, an annual celebration for many years on the City’s West Side, were previously included in the Library of Congress’ American Memory Collection. Students from Skidmore College Prof. Michael Ennis-McMillan’s Anthropology class provided full literal transcriptions for the audio narratives featured in the digital exhibit.

The Project Committee included Lauren Roberts, MaryAnn Fitzgerald, Trevor Oakley, Anne Clothier, Jim Richmond and Lorie Wies. Members of the Saratoga County History Roundtable also contributed to the exhibit.

The interactive exhibit can be found at……… or by visiting the Library’s Home Page under the Local History tab or click here.