Mulberry Street Branch

Mulberry Street's Do It Yourself Series continues on October 19th at 6:30 p.m. We'll be constructing a paper magic folding box that is sure to please!

As some of you remember, this year's summer reading theme was "Be Creative!" Here at the Mulberry Street Branch, we participated by starting a summer Do It Yourself Series for adults. The program was held once a month and met with very enthusiastic participants. Mulberry's creative staff members transformed and revamped ordinary items into awesome and useful objects.

The first craft was a cereal box notebook using recycled cereal boxes and scrap paper. Who needs expensive Moleskine notebooks, when you can make your own!

In July we took old t-shirts and transformed them into tote bags! The library may have run out of plastic bags, but these easy to make totes hold all your library materials.

We got a little fancy in August with wearable button art. Using colorful buttons and felt, participants made fantastic brooches with these simple objects.

The staff and participants had so much fun this summer with our adult crafting programs that we've decided to continue the series into the fall. RSVP to our next craft on October 19th by calling or emailing the Mulberry Street Branch!

The Summer Reading theme for 2009, Be Creative, isn't just kids' stuff. Adults need craft time too, so check out our Summer D.I.Y. Series at the Mulberry Street Branch. In the true spirit of D.I.Y., three of our staff members volunteered to learn and teach some crafts. In June we held a Book Art crafting session--participants brought in cardboard cereal boxes and 45 minutes later they held a handmade notebook. The July program saw old t-shirts transformed into useful tote bags, thanks to a simple craft recipe by Amy Sperber from the book Tease (Sarah Sockit, ed.).

Tempted to get your craft on? Please join us for craft number three on August 19 at 6:30, when the most talented crafter on the Mulberry Street staff will show you how to make wearable art from buttons. Gather up all those strays and create a holiday gift for your Aunt Josephine or sister Claire.

Also mark your calendar for the first ever Mulberry Street Book & Cookie Swap Social on Wednesday, September 2 at 6:30. You bring some books and a dozen of your favorite cookies (homemade or store-bought) for trading, and we'll provide the trading floor, the coffee, and raffle prizes! Not a bad way to bookend your summer.

D.I.Y., or "Do it Yourself," is all the rage lately! On June 24th at 6:30 p.m. the Mulberry Street Branch launches its Summer Do It Yourself Series for adults. We'll be making simple books using recycled materials (bring an empty cereal box if you can). Just one way to Be Creative this summer!

Registration is required. RSVP by calling the library at 212-966-3424 or send us an email at mulberry_branch@nypl.org.

On June 8th at 6:30 PM, please join us at the Mulberry Street Library as author Elaine Weiss talks about her book Fruits of Victory: The Women's Land Army of America in the Great War.

Fruits of Victory covers the virtually unknown story of the the Women's Land Army. From 1917 to 1920 the Woman’s Land Army (WLA) brought thousands of city workers, society women, artists, business professionals, and college students into rural America to take over the farm work after men were called to wartime service. These women wore military-style uniforms, lived in communal camps, and did what was considered “men's work”—that is, plowing fields, driving tractors, planting, harvesting, and hauling lumber. The Land Army insisted its “farmerettes” be paid wages equal to male farm laborers and be protected by an eight-hour workday. These farmerettes were shocking at first and encountered skeptical farmers’ scorn, but as they proved themselves willing and capable, farmers began to rely upon the women workers and became their loudest champions.

On May 27th at 6:30 P.M., the Mulberry Street Branch introduces you to our neighbors from Crosby Street, the Anne Frank Center USA. Established in 1977, the Center provides education and exhibits on the importance of tolerance through the memory of Anne Frank.

Join us to learn more about the Anne Frank Center USA along with information on the life of Anne Frank.

RSVP at the library, by phone at 212-966-3424, or email mulberry_branch@nypl.org. All are welcome.

Saint Patrick's Day is tomorrow and March is usually the time when I reflect upon my heritage and honor my ancestors' history. Since March is also Women's History Month, I thought I would highlight some of my favorite female American Irish writers who inspire others to write and love great literature.

Born in 1851, Kate Chopin was the daughter of Thomas O'Flaherty, an Irish immigrant and a founder of the Pacific Railroad. Chopin was attuned to the Louisiana lifestyle and role of the submissive housewife, which she herself rejected (even though she eventually married and had six children). These observations were reflected and often criticized in her short stories, poetry, and novels. Though unsuccessful in her own time, The Awakening is now considered a significant work in feminist literature.  read more »

In honor of the Oscar awards that took place this past Sunday, I thought I'd share some Hollywood drama in the fiction form. The following novels are set in Hollywood, California and cover various themes. From satire to mystery, these novels capture the Hollywood essence.

In Charles Bukowski's Hollywood, Henry Chinaski gets caught in celebrity Hollywood as he writes his screenplay, "The Dance of Jim Bean."
 
 
 
 
After a nervous breakdown, Maria Wyeth reminisces on her days as a frustrated actress in Joan Didion's Play it as it Lays.
 
 
 
 
What's Hollywood without its wild parties? In Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis, Clay finds himself in the California party scene, but after some disturbing events decides he needs to leave.
 
 
 
Based on true details from a 1947 unsolved murder, The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy is a page-turning mystery that will have you on the edge of your seat. Bucky Belichert is out to solve this brutal murder and investigates the whereabouts of his missing partner.
 
 
No other novel captures Hollywood like Nathanael West's 1939 classic, The Day of the Locust. Artist Todd Hackett works as a set and costume designer in Hollywood, while meeting a host of strange characters that he hopes to include in his painting, "The Burning of Los Angeles."
 

These titles can be requested by visiting the LEO catalog or contacting your local branch.

At the age of ten, I was drawn to a particular copy of Moby Dick that my grandmother kept on her bookshelf. Its binding was made of blue and red leather with gold lettering. I was determined to read this book and so at my young age I sat on her bed and dove into the first page. "Call me Ishmael." About an hour later, I woke up. Rather than continue reading, I decided to steal the book from her shelf and finish it at a later time. Fifteen years later, I still have yet to read Herman Melville's Moby Dick and no one has ever questioned the mysterious disappearance of my grandmother's copy.

Recently I picked up In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick, which documents the tragic sinking of the Whaleship Essex that inspired Melville's Moby Dick. Philbrick does an excellent job of describing the life of whalers not only aboard the Essex, but the hard life of a whaler during the nineteenth century as well. While this book might not be for the faint of heart (his descriptions of starvation are very graphic) or for the reader who is about to take up sailing, this may be just the read for those who are interested in history with a taste of adventure and heroics. It is also a very fast read as the writing is clear and not overwhelming with nautical jargon. And while In the Heart of the Sea and Moby Dick are closely connected together, I was also reminded of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Normally I'm the type of reader who chooses fiction over non-fiction. I may take up an historical fiction novel and then later read a related non-fiction work for more information, but this is the first time that I'm doing the reverse. In the Heart of the Sea, by Nathaniel Philbrick, has inspired me to once again revisit my grandmother's copy of Moby Dick.

Further Reading:

* In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
* The Loss of the Ship Essex, Sunk by a Whale: First-Person Accounts
* Moby Dick, or, The Whale by Herman Melville (Try downloading the eBook or audiobook!)
* The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

These titles can be found at the Mulberry Street Branch Library or reserved online.

My grandparents were both born and raised in Newry, County Down , Ireland and remarkably never met until they both arrived in America . My grandmother was the first to come over in 1929 on a very small tugboat that took 10 days and she was apparently seasick for the entire ride and broke one of her favorite teacups. When she arrived in New Jersey , her uncle had told her that she had just missed supper and would have to wait until morning to eat. The next day, he threw a newspaper at her and told her to get a job. In 1930, my grandfather left from Belfast on a larger boat, which he would describe as if he had traveled on a luxury liner, and “danced” his way to America . When he came over, his first task was to deliver a teacup to a woman that had just moved from Newry. And as luck would have it, my grandparents met and fell in love right away.

This abridged version of my grandparent’s story has been repeated to me since I was a little girl. I was reminded constantly about how hard life was for them in Ireland , and the struggles they again faced in America . They were very poor and employers turned my grandmother away because of her Irish background. But I’m not the only one who has a story of when my ancestors emigrated to America. In fact if you are also familiar with stories such as these, you should join us tomorrow night at the Mulberry Street Branch to meet our neighbors, The Lower East Side Tenement Museum . You’ll be able to gain a better understanding of what life was like for immigrants during the 19th and early 20th centuries and reflect on your own family stories.

This program will take place tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. Contact the Mulberry Street Branch library to RSVP.

Helene Berson's work is on display in the main reading room on Level 2 from July to August. Since we opened last May, six local artists have shown their work here.

Describe the kind of art you create.
My artwork is best described as collage and mixed media. The materials I rely on are myriad types of papers, photos and acrylic paint. Some of these come from quite ordinary contemporary sources, some are vintage, some are found objects, and some are specialty art papers. The works come together with the use of a variety of glues and gels. Frequently I incorporate details that have great personal meaning to me in addition to adding visual interest or suggesting the themes or subject of the work.

Talk about the scope of your show at the Mulberry Street Branch.The show consists of about 25 pieces of artwork. They range in size from 4 x 4" to 16 x 20. Most of these pieces were inspired by family photographs; many are of my parents. I found making these works of art gave me an opportunity to explore my feelings about family; family history and my roots. For this reason I coined the term “biollage” to suggest the connection between collage, biography, personal biology and history. Although much of the work contains very personal and mundane references I believe it evokes universal common human themes and experiences.

Where do you find inspiration?I have been deeply inspired by the good fortune of having many vintage family photos in my possession. For many years, decades actually, I treasured these photographs but was not actively relating to them. They were stored in boxes and bags and tucked away in a cupboard. Over the past several years they have revealed both a treasure trove of memories real and imagined and at the same time a Pandora’s Box of the mixed bag of my family history. This show at the library consists of one collection of my work. Other work reflects the inspiration of the sea; shapes--especially triangles; travel, and architecture.

How do you think the library setting affects the people who are experiencing your art?I believe that the Mulberry Street library is a particularly fitting setting for my show because it is a historic building that matches the vintage photographs and settings of my collages. I would like to think that when readers and researchers look up from their books or laptops my work provides a thoughtful resting place for the mind and eye.

Let's judge books by their covers. Describe the kinds of book jackets that have stuck in your artist's memory. I have certainly been drawn to look at a book because of its cover. I like bright, simple, dynamic and stylized designs and typefaces. One example is The Postman Always Rings Twice by James Cain. Generally speaking pulp fiction, Art Deco and styles popularized in the 1930s and 40s will almost always get a second glance from me.

Visit the Mulberry Street Branch to sign Ms. Berson's guest book and see the installation in person.

The next Mulberry Street Branch Library Book Discussion Group will meet on Monday, June 30th, at 6:30 PM. This month's title is Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. For more information on future meeting dates and book titles, click here. The Mulberry Street Branch is located at 10 Jersey Street, between Mulberry and Lafayette.