Featured image:"Miniature L.F. & I.T. Railroad at Lollipop Farm" Courtesy of Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library's Milton Price and Tomlin Art Co. Postcard Collection, accessed 04-28-2026 https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll63/id/14267/rec/99
Long island Archives
Transcending Barriers: Opening Archives, Opening Minds
May/June 2026 Volume 33 Issue 3
The Long Island Archives Conference: 30 Years and Growing By Nicole Menchise There were a few big changes when planning began for the thirty year, pearl anniversary of the Long Island Archives Conference. Over the past months since the event on March 16th, we have received great feedback about the new location at Farmingdale State University, about the refreshments (who knew the mushrooms would be such a hit), and of course, the parking. All joking aside, this was a day of networking and lasting connections. I particularly enjoyed it when two of our speakers realized they each had archival collections that could fill in research gaps of the another organization. I want to thank the volunteers from the Committee for the Preservation of Local History, the Long Island Library Resources Council Staff, the amazing team at Farmingdale State, our sponsors and our presenters. See you next spring!
(L-R) Amy Folk, Natiba Guy-Clement, Regina Feeney, Nicole Menchise, Marie Penny, Dee Bowers and Robert Anen
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Upcoming Programs of Special Interest
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A Guide to Disaster Preparedness and Creating an Emergency Response Plan Tuesday, May 12th | 2:00 PM | Free program for ESLN Members | Register at: https://lilrc.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=2051139&group= A general overview of how to begin the process of evaluating your organization's risks and outline a plan for staff and collections in the event of an impending or unplanned emergency. This program will include discussion on: Understanding all potential threats, protecting and recovering collections, getting your staff and volunteers prepared, developing evacuation procedures, resources to help you create your Emergency Response Plan and recent case studies. Assessing Risk to Protect Your Collections Wednesday, May 20th | 1:00 PM | Free program | Register at: https://connectingtocollections.org/event/may-day-2026-assessing-risk-to-protect-your-collections/ Risk assessment is the foundation of successful emergency planning, but getting started can be daunting. As part of the annual May Day Programming, join us for an introduction aimed at small and mid-sized institutions with little experience in emergency preparedness to learn about useful tools that will help you assess your risks so that you can create an emergency plan that covers the situations that your institution is most likely to experience. Presented by the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation. Turning Assessment Recommendations Into Actions: How to Make Practical Use of Assessment Reports Friday, May 29th | 12PM ET | Free program | Register at https://ccaha.org/events Collections assessments provide a path forward, but there are often barriers. Limited time, funding, and staffing can prevent us from achieving our intended collections care goals. This session will provide a brief overview of assessment processes and content, featuring real-world examples with guest speakers from organizations that have undertaken an assessment, sharing some of the strategies that they have used to turn assessment recommendations into successful projects. They will address how to get started, tips for staying organized, and ways to seek outside help from students and consultants. Moderated by Dyani Feige, CCAHA’s Director of Preservation Services. Handling Photographs for Digitization Tuesday, June 16th | 12:00 PM | Free program | Register at https://ccaha.org/events Digitization is an important step in improving access to your photography collection while simultaneously minimizing the frequency of handling that can potentially cause damage to these items. Digital Archives Specialist Kaitlyn Pettengill will be in conversation with Associate Photo Conservator Ivey Barker to discuss the unique challenges of working with photographs in achieving your digitization goals. They will discuss the differences in digitization setups for a range of photographic materials, including cased photographs, glossy prints, and slides. Considerations of varying photographic formats, materials, and vulnerabilities will help participants shape an effective digitization strategy.
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LATEST FROM THE ACCESSING ARCHIVES PROGRAM By Robert Anen
Hello everyone, Three weeks ago, I finished working at the Locust Valley Library on a film and video collection from the Locust Valley High School Athletics Department that features mostly football and lacrosse games that date from the 1960s to the 2000s. Film collections are really having their moment in the Accessing Archives Program and I am obviously here for it. You could call it film-maxxing. Over the course of six weeks, I worked at the Locust Valley Library on their first, large acquisition of local history materials. This collection came from the Locust Valley Athletics Department and contained 107 films, 342 videos, and 900 35mm slides. Here are I am, at the right, waist deep in the collection work. Thankfully, I managed to inventory every single film and video in the collection as well as digitize 91 of the 107 films in the collection. Here at LILRC, we have a small portable film scanner that allows us to do this type of digitization work (for 8mm and Super 8mm film only) as I continue to inventory the videos in the collection. The films in the collection date from 1963 to 1986 and the videos date from 1987 to 2008. Now, I haven’t seen every video tape but for the films and videos I have seen, they capture football games. For Long Island and Nassau County specifically, I believe the Locust Valley High School Sports Films will prove to be a popular collection on New York Heritage over time in the same way yearbook collections are consistently popular when we look at the New York Heritage statistics every month. These football games capture not just what teams the Locust Valley Falcons played but where they played as well. I won’t list every team but the following towns on Long Island where the Falcons played include Carle Place, Commack, Cold Spring Harbor, East Rockaway, Elmont, Floral Park, Franklin Square, Glen Cove, Glen Head, Greenvale, Hempstead, Jericho, Levittown, Lynbrook, Malverne, Manhasset, Oyster Bay, Plainview, Roosevelt, Valley Stream, and Westbury. You can see this for yourself on New York Heritage if you want to see the games played at one of those specific locations. I should also remind the reader that, even though you may not enjoy football, these films and videos capture so much more than a football game. They capture everything else you see in the films that include, the cheerleaders, coaches, the audiences in the bleachers, the surrounding roads, cars, water towers, and former locations of a lot of these football fields. It appears many have been renovated and moved in the last forty to fifty years. I know everyone will find something in the films to enjoy.
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2026-2027 Documentary Heritage Program Grant DHP funds projects that improve access to historical records including but not limited to digitization, conversion of descriptive tools for online access, community archiving, documentation planning, and arrangement & description. Application deadline is June 2. Go to: https://www.archives.nysed.gov/grants/documentary-heritage-program-grants New in 2023, grant funding is also available for recipients of Archival Needs Assessments (ANA) through the State Archives’ Documentary Heritage and Preservation Services for New York (DHPSNY) program. Applicants can apply for funding to implement one or more recommendations in the DHPSNY ANA report. Before applying, please review the DHP Grant Guidelines and Resources in full to learn more about eligible project types, topical priorities, cost-share requirements, and complete application instructions.
Funding Opportunity: Wyeth Foundation for American Art The Wyeth Foundation for American Art offers grants that can be used to conserve American masterpieces. Typically, the grants range from $5,000 to $25,000 per project and may extend over two or three years. Applications for the Summer 2026 cycle can be submitted now through June 16. Visit the Wyeth Foundation website to learn more. Thinking about applying for a project involving CCAHA and need advice or assistance? Email Daphne Mayer, Director of Business Development, to get started. https://www.wyethfoundationforamericanart.org/grant-guidelines/
$$ Find Your Funding $$
The NYSCA/GHHN Conservation Grant Program Made possible with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, 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. This statewide program offers three opportunities for collecting institutions in New York State: PRESERVATION SUPPLIES - https://www.greaterhudson.org/preservation-supplies-grant.html Application Portal opens May 1, 2026 - Application Deadline: May 31, 2026 Support of up to $650 is available to purchase collections management supplies. SITE ASSESSMENT - https://www.greaterhudson.org/site-assessment-grant.html Application Portal opens May 1, 2026 - Application Deadline: May 31, 2026 Support of $1,000 for a half-day site visit by a collections consultant to discuss specific areas of stewardship, including identifying collections issues and prioritizing basic steps to improve the care of your collections, followed by a written report. CONSERVATION TREATMENT - https://www.greaterhudson.org/conservation-treatment-grant.html Application Portal opens June 1, 2026 - Application Deadline: September 1, 2026 Support of up to $10,000 is available for conservation treatment of paintings, works on paper (including individual drawings, watercolors, prints, or photographs), textiles (including costumes, domestic textiles, and upholstery), furniture, frames, sculpture, historical, ethnographic, and decorative objects by professional conservators.
Welcome to the LILRC's GOVERNMENT RESOURCES AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE page. Sharing online portals and forums for government agency and publication information; whether the resource is local, state-wide or national. These government resources are worth checking out!
Designed by Freepik
Want to join? Go to LILRC.org/government-information-committee
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VOTE411.org Launched by the League of Women Voters Education Fund (LWVEF) in October of 2006, VOTE411.org is a "one-stop-shop" for election related information. It provides nonpartisan information to the public with both general and state-specific information on the following aspects of the election process: Absentee ballot information Factual data on candidates in various federal, state and local races General information on such topics as how to watch debates with a critical eye ID requirements, Polling place locations, Registration deadlines Voter qualifications, Voter registration forms, Voting machines First time and seasoned voters all need a plan before casting their ballot. Make a plan and get prepared to go to the polls: Make A Voting Plan here https://www.vote411.org/make-your-plan
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New York Archives Conference Watch Party with LILRC Friday, June 5th, 2026 (9+3:00 AM to 3:30 PM) On June 5th the Long Island Library Resources Council (LILRC) is hosting a Watch Party to view the New York Archives Conference (NYAC) as a group. NYAC is a long-running initiative that brings together archival practitioners, volunteers, students, and stakeholders from around the state to share projects and lessons from the field. The conference has been virtual since 2020, but the Watch Party is an opportunity to gather with friends, network with colleagues, and consume great archives content! We will gather at the SCLS building (627 N. Sunrise Service Road, Bellport, NY 11713) to watch the conference on Zoom. Please arrive at 9 am to park, settle in, and connect with other attendees; conference content will begin promptly at 9:30 and end by 3:30. Lunch will be provided. We look forward to hosting the Watch Party again this year, and we hope you will join us. If you have any questions, please contact Nicole Menchise at nmenchise@gmail.com. REGISTER HERE or at https://nyarchivists.org/
The John and Alice Coltrane Home and Half Hollow Hills Community Library - A Supreme Collaboration By Ellen Druda This spring, the John and Alice Coltrane Home Board members Yasuhiko “Fuji” Fujioka and Hollis King brought the music and legacy of John Coltrane to life in two inspiring Long Island programs, each highlighting the Home’s significance as a locally important cultural site. In March, they led a vibrant listening party at Firefly Artists in Northport, and in April, they presented a deeply engaging program at the Half Hollow Hills Community Library exploring A Love Supreme and Coltrane’s years in Dix Hills. The library event also marked the inaugural program in the new Coltrane Room, a dedicated space for ongoing partnerships with The Coltrane Home, alongside the newly unveiled Coltrane Home Collection of books, recordings, and materials available to the public. As Library Director Margie Hartough shared, “John Coltrane once spoke of his desire to be a force for good. That mission aligns beautifully with the mission of libraries everywhere—to educate, to uplift, and to serve the public good. Tonight, we bring those two missions together, celebrating both the enduring power of Coltrane’s legacy and the library’s commitment to be a force for good in our community.” Here are some pictures of the library event, the Coltrane Home Collection stacks, and The Coltrane Room.
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JUNIOR GROUP DOCUMENTARY - Second Place Roy Wang, Ren Dewal, and Samarth Balani from Jericho Middle School for "The Revolutionary Researcher: Vivien Thomas Saving Blue Babies" SENIOR GROUP DOCUMENTARY - First Place Karan Singh, Ryan Khokon, Kunal Bhardwaj, Krish Shashidharan, and Harvir Singh from Herricks High School for "Below the City: The Subway That Revolutionized New York" JUNIOR GROUP EXHIBIT - First Place Katherine Weng and Ina Woo from Jericho Middle School for "Revolution in the Courtroom: The Scottsboro Boys and Legal Reform" SENIOR GROUP EXHIBIT Second Place Rania Gupta, Xennie Liu and Nuha Maruf from Herricks High School for "A Revolution for Innocence: Reforming Justice" First Place Soor Patel, Callista Domingo, Rhea Mandal, Rehan Malhi, and Nikhil Aggarwal from Herricks High School for "Looms to Legislatures: The Lowell Mill Girls and the Fight for Dignity in Industrial America" JUNIOR GROUP PREFORMANCE - First Place Abigail Mannino and Liliana Paciaroni from Herricks Middle School for "This is our Story: How the Revolutionary Reaction of the “Code Girls” During World War II led to Reforms in Cryptology" SENIOR GROUP PERFORMANCE - Second Place Aanika St. Jean, Zarah Zohir, Neha Paul, Maya Purohit from Herricks High School for "Virginia Is for Lovers: How Loving v. Virginia Revolutionized Marriage Equality in the United States" JUNIOR GROUP WEBSITE - First Place Tamar Oppenheimer, Isabella Deutsch, Lilly Rattner, and Leanne Peretz from Hebrew Academy of Long Beach for "A Declaration of Her Own: Revolution in Seneca Falls" SENIOR GROUP WEBSITE - First Place Azra Ali and Katie Tao from Syosset Senior High School for "The U.S Public Health Service Study of Untreated Syphilis At Tuskegee; How One Study Reshaped Medical Ethics" JUNIOR INDIVIDUAL DOCUMENTARY Second Place Emma Chan from Jericho Middle School for "A Quiet Revolution: Frances Perkins, The Woman Behind U.S. Labor Reforms" First Place Matthew Marulli from North Shore Middle School for "The Bone Wars: A Gilded Age of Paleontology" JUNIOR INDIVIDUAL EXHIBIT Second Place Zoey Pinto from Long Beach Middle School for "Glow of Revolution, Shadow of Reform: The Radium Girls’ Battle for Workplace Safety" First Place Alini Qi from Jericho Middle School for "Reaction to Evil: The Nuremberg Trials and the Fight for Justice" SENIOR INDIVIDUAL EXHIBIT - Second Place Tony-JunLin Pan from Jericho Senior High School for "From Classrooms to Courtrooms: The East Los Angeles Walkouts as Catalyst For Chicano Revolution, Civil Reaction, and Education Reform" JUNIOR INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE Second Place Zeinab Yassine from Jericho Middle School for "Hedy Lamarr, A Revolutionary Woman Who Changed Technology Forever” First Place Lianna Mathew from Herricks Middle School for "Nellie Bly: How One Investigative Journalist Revolutionized American Society" SENIOR INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE - Second Place Braydon Chen from Great Neck North Hight School for "Groundwork for Stability: How Hamilton Turned Reaction into Reform and Built American Finance" JUNIOR INDIVIDUAL WEBSITE Second Place Jianna Anand from Jericho Middle School for "Challenging La Operación: Helen Rodríguez-Trías’ Revolutionary Reform for Reproductive Health" First Place Emily Chiu from Jericho Middle School for "Carmela Teoli and the Bread and Roses Strike: Revolution, Reaction, Reform in the American Labor Industry" SENIOR INDIVIDUAL WEBSITE - First Place Nataly Posada from Huntington High School for "A New Deal for America: How Social Security Redefine Government's Role" JUNIOR PAPER - First Place Darius Ilkhani from Wheatley School for "From Revolution to Reform: How Domestic and International Reactions Shaped the Islamic Republic of Iran"
Long Island Students Heading to National History Day You may not know that LILRC is a sponsor and supporter of Long Island History Day. Held each year, Long Island History Day boasts more student participation in our one region than some states in their entirety. That is a lot of young minds fascinated by history! The list below is long, but we feel that these students, who are all heading to the national level of competition on June 14th, deserve to be recognized. The national competition will be held on June 14th through the18th, at the University of Maryland in College Park. The theme this year, Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History, was chosen to coincide with the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. We wish these young historians a great time in Maryland!
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The Long Island Library Resources Council Turns 60! Celebrates with "60 Acts of Service” Campaign From February through October 2026, LILRC will be honoring its sixty years of service by highlighting sixty acts of community service and engagement by the council and its members. We invite you to submit your own institution's act of service or engagement to be included in this social media campaign. Kindly complete this form to submit your institution's contribution to our celebration! For questions, please email Sally Stieglitz, Communications & Outreach Coordinator, at sstieglitz@lilrc.org
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Long Island Archives - May/June 2026 Editor: Nicole Menchise, Digitization and Archives Coordinator LILRC - 627 N. Sunrise Service Rd., Bellport, NY 11713, www.lilrc.org.