Featured image: "Fire Island Lighthouse (Fire Island, NY)", courtesy of St. Joseph's University. This image can be found in the South Shore Recreation digital collection on New York Heritage Digital Collections website. Accessed 6-28-25: https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15281coll57/id/195/rec/4
Long island Archives
Transcending Barriers: Opening Archives, Opening Minds
July/August 2025 Volume 32 Issue 4
Local History Inspires at the Long Island Library Conference This past May, at the Long Island Library Conference, the Nassau County Library Association's Archives Committee sponsored a panel discussion with several advocates of Long Island history. Among them (pictured below left to right) were Georgiana O’Neill from the Longwood Public Library, Natalie Korsavidis from Farmingdale Public Library, "Freeport's biggest cheerleader" Regina Feeney from the Freeport Memorial Library, and Carol Clarke and Ariel Morabito, from the Bryant Library. Each speaker presented on their methods of outreach using their archival collections and research to engage patrons near and far. Some impressive work has been done with recorded documentaries, collaborating on publications, creating LibGuides and other resources - looking for creative ways to inform their communities about the people and places that might otherwise have been lost to time. Archivists are tasked with anticipating the needs of future researchers; uncovering great stories from unlikely places. These local history librarians and archivists are passionate about their collections and their communities. The room was full of eager listeners, fully absorbed in each presentation and deeply inspired by the possibilities that could be found in the next folder.
Don't Miss These Workshops for Archives & Special Collections Safe Labeling and Marking of Archival Materials 2025 Wednesday, July 9 (10:00 am - 12:00 pm) - Zoom Register here or at https://lilrc.org/events/event_list.asp Ideally, every object in a historic collection has a unique identifier, and that identifier is attached to the item securely, discretely, and with products that "do no harm." With so many 'archival' products to choose from, it's hard to know what is safe, effective and reversible. LILRC's Digitization and Archives Coordinator, Nicole Menchise, will teach conservation-level techniques for marking objects with their identifiers. This will include all types of commonly found objects in your archival collection including textiles, glass and porcelain, metal and plastic, wood and paper based archives. This program is based on the in-person workshops held in 2023-2024. Collective Wisdom: Collaborative Learning to Support Your Community Archiving Projects Saturday, August 16th (10:00 am - 4:00 pm) - Walt Whitman Birthplace Association Registration deadline: August 7th Led by Natalie Milbrodt, CUNY’s University Archivist and founder of the Queens Memory Project, this workshop will invite attendees to engage in collaborative learning through the exploration of opportunities and challenges commonly encountered in community archiving projects. Participants will gain inspiration and insight from learning about other community archiving projects happening at cultural heritage organizations and learn strategies for guiding community collaborations toward successful outcomes. We will identify the highest priority topics for future training and support. To register go to https://dhpsny.org/workshops to locate the link.
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Ask An Archivist.... A local business wanted to print and frame some images of our village from the 20th century that we have in our collection. They paid our charge for reproducing the image for artistic purposes. Now they want to use the image to promote their business. Not sure what to tell them...can you help? As I can not offer legal advice, I can tell you that there are many factors to consider. First, the original agreement was for these images to be displayed (and appropriately credited) as art on the walls. Now they are looking to use the image for commercial purposes. I'm not sure if the images are clearly in your ownership - where a deed of gift is signed by the creator/photographer, handing over all rights to the photograph and its use. Since this was taken in the early 20th century, I am guessing that this is not the case. Most of us in the museum/archives field use images in our collections 'for educational purposes' and cite fair use as our reasoning (17 U.S.C.). Photographers have licensing agreements that allow them to address, "specific terms and conditions such as reproduction, display, distribution, exclusivity, duration, and alteration/modification limitations, [where] both parties can protect their rights and avoid any legal complications." Looking at the New York Historical Society's policies for use and reproduction (https://www.nyhistory.org/rights-and-reproductions), I believe you will want to create a similar policy that defines the specific use and limitations granted to the patron/researcher/author or commercial entity that seeks to reproduce an image in your collection. Have an attorney review your policies.
Hello again everyone, A few weeks ago I finished working on a slide collection for the Sea Cliff Village Museum. These were not your ordinary 35mm slides that we are all familiar with. These were a rarer slide format that was popular in the 1950s through the 1970s that measures 2.75” x 2.75”. Let me explain. Towards the end of April, I began working on the Bert Scholes Slide Collection. Bertam Wilson Scholes (1889 - 1974) was born, raised and lived in Manhattan most of his life, but had deep ties to Sea Cliff, New York. The Scholes family spent many summers in Sea Cliff. His family’s summer home, located at 362 Sea Cliff Avenue (formerly Summit Avenue), was in the possession of his family from the moment it was built in 1875 until Bert died in 1974. As a young man, Bert spent his summers serving as the captain of the Life Saving Service of the City of New York, Sea Cliff Division. Bert was an avid photographer who photographed events and locations around Sea Cliff from 1956 to 1974. He captured homes around Sea Cliff, businesses, and events that show the daily life of Sea Cliff residents. Bert also captured several locations on Long Island as well as iconic neighborhoods and events around Manhattan and Queens. Most notably, he captured the 1964 New York World's Fair grounds under construction, the original Madison Square Garden and original Penn Station during demolition, and circus parades through the city. Bert was most likely able to photograph places such as the fairgrounds under construction because, according to the 1950 U.S. Federal Census, he was a construction engineer for a building company. To digitize this slide collection (approximately 3,000) in a matter of five weeks seems insane, but I devised a plan to digitize them in batches of twenty four. Twenty four was the number of slides that were able to fit on the scanner bed at one time. That can be seen here: Here are the slides and the cardboard inserts that either precede or proceed a given set of slides in a given box. This cardboard insert usually contains the location, date, type of camera used, amount of slides in that batch, and the type of film used in the camera. On the next page is a closeup look at the slides on the scanner bed. It should be noted that a large piece of polyester sheeting was laid onto the scanner bed before any of this began in order to protect the scanner glass surface from the edges of the slides as some of the metal binders were sharp or bent as well as dirty and/or sticky. Every batch of slides was scanned first using the settings for Color Positive Film and then scanned a second time using the settings for a positive image of a photograph. This was done because most slides contain a white label that cannot be seen when scanned using the setting for Color Positive Film. This is what the scans of one batch looks like. I then cropped each slide and cardboard insert and renamed them in such a way that they are presented in a folder the exact way that were housed inside their box. The collection contained some standard 35mm slides as well as plenty of unhoused pieces of film that were also scanned. After they were scanned and cropped, the slides, unhoused film, and cardboard inserts totaled 3,445 individual images. A select portion of Bert’s slides can now be seen on New York Heritage. Though the project officially ended on June 6, I plan to continue uploading more slides from the collection when time allows. See the collection at Bert Scholes Slide Collection (https://nyheritage.org/collections/bert-scholes-slide-collection)
Bertam Wilson Scholes (1889 - 1974)
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LATEST FROM THE ACCESSING ARCHIVES PROGRAM By Robert Anen
Teaching With Primary Sources: Takeaways from the MARAC Conference by Nicole Menchise This spring was my first time attending the Mid-Atlantic Region Archives Conference held this year in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I opted to take a pre-conference workshop titled, "Primary Source Literacy and Active Learning" with educator Rachel Grove Rohrbaugh (right) from Elizabethtown College. The half day workshop was fascinating and offered many resources I am eager to share. The following links can help archivists, historians and information professionals with creating education programming or to anticipate need when working with teachers to supplement lesson plans or provide sources for students participating in Long Island History Day: TeachArchives.org Society of American Archivists - Guidelines for Primary Source Literacy Society of American Archivists - Case Studies on Teaching With Primary Sources (TWPS) The Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Collective TPS Collective - Guidelines Toolkit Rachel Grove Rohrbaugh - Elizabethtown College - Social Studies Methods Research Guide The Teaching with Primary Sources Cookbook edited by Julie M. Porterfield Teaching Primary Source Research Skills to 21st-Century Learners by Julie Thomas Educational Programs: Innovative Practices for Archives and Special Collections edited by Kate Theimer Past or Portal? Enhancing Undergraduate Learning through Special Collections and Archives edited by Eleanor Mitchell, Peggy Anne Seiden, and Suzy Taraba
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Welcome the LILRC's GOVERNMENT RESOURCES AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE page. Sharing online portals and forums for government agency and publication information.
The Statistics section offers election outcome maps by state starting with the election of 1789, and the Data Archive offers some interesting stats relating to polls and public perception. Check it out at: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/
Designed by Freepik
Hosted at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the American Presidency Project (APP) had over 170,000 presidential and non-presidential records including "data related to First Ladies, Midterm Elections, U.S. Party Platforms, Statements of Administration Policy, White House Press Briefing Transcripts, and Presidential Debate transcripts." Per the website, the AAP is a non-profit and non-partisan [website] devoted to the idea of Constitutional government. This website allows you to browse by president - all of them - including easy-to-read transcriptions of speeches, proclamations, executive orders, and special messages. The Media Archive is particularly interesting as you can search by category (Fireside Chats, Inaugural Addresses, Eulogies), Attributes (Election Victory, Party Fundraiser, Swearing-in) or by year. See some of the options for the year 1981 below.
Want to join? Go to LILRC.org/government-information-committee
Save The Date
The 30th Annual Long Island Archives Conference "Embracing Change" Monday, March 16th, 2026 Farmingdale State University
Long Island Archives - July/August 2025 Editor: Nicole Menchise, Digitization and Archives Coordinator LILRC - 627 N. Sunrise Service Rd., Bellport, NY 11713, www.lilrc.org.
Greater Hudson Heritage Network Awards $59,805 Statewide for the 2025 NYSCA/GHHN Conservation Grant Program Excerpts taken from the full press release which can be accessed here. The NYSCA/GHHN Conservation Grant Program now offers three opportunities for collecting institutions in New York State: Conservation Treatment Grants, Preservation Supplies Grants, and Site Assessment Grants. Preservation Supplies and Site Assessment Grants are administered by Greater Hudson Heritage Network, in partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Additional funding from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation supports projects from Long Island and New York City. In all, 90 organizational awards totaling $59,805 for Preservation Supplies and Site Assessments were recommended for funding. Congratulations! Preservation Supplies Awardees - Long Island East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation (Suffolk) East Hampton Historical Society (Suffolk) Friends of the Sea Cliff Village Museum (Nassau) Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Association (Suffolk) Hallockville Inc. (Suffolk) Hofstra University Museum of Art (Nassau) Lindenhurst Historical Society (Suffolk) Old Westbury Gardens Inc (Nassau) Preservation Long Island (Suffolk) Raynham Hall Museum (Nassau) Roslyn Landmark Society (Nassau) Southold Historical Museum (Suffolk) Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum (Suffolk) The Garden City Historical Society (Nassau) The Historical Society of Greater Port Jefferson (Suffolk) The Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages (Suffolk) The Whaling Museum and Education Center (Suffolk) Three Village Historical Society (Suffolk) Site Assessment Awardees - Long Island East Hampton Historical Society (Suffolk) Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Association (Suffolk) Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum (Suffolk) The Caumsett Foundation (Suffolk) The Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages (Suffolk)