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New York State Library News & Events
July 2025
| | The New York State Library’s services, programs, and collections are made possible by federal Library Service and Technology Act funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. | |
Connect with Knowledge You Trust!
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Expand your library offerings and expertise with Continuing Education for Library Workers!
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The New York Culture and History Lecture Series is provided by the Research Library. Share exciting book talks and scholarship with your community!
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DHPSNY provides Preservation Practices for Every Library, a service available to cultural institutions around the state to support the preservation of community collections and history.
| | NYS Library's Washington Relics On Display | | |
On July 1, one of the NYS Library’s most storied collections went on display in the Cultural Education Center as part of the New York State Museum’s latest exhibit, George Washington: An American Paradox. The exhibit includes several artifacts from Washington’s life and closely examines the multifaceted legacy of the nation’s first president.
Long revered as a symbol of American ideals and known as the “Father of Our Nation,” the exhibit also confronts Washington’s complicated views on topics such as slavery and Indigenous Peoples, providing appropriate context for visitors of all ages.
The exhibit features several of the most significant items from the collections of the New York State Museum and New York State Library, including Washington's storied dress sword; a pistol gifted to him by Lafayette; surveying equipment from Washington's early career; and a bronze bust of the first president.
If you can’t make it to the Cultural Education Center in Albany, or if you just want a head start on checking out the artifacts, please explore the New York State Library’s George Washington collection online. You’ll find exciting connections to even more NYS Library collections and expertise.
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Gallery Opening for George Washington: An American Paradox
Date: Thursday, July 10, 2025
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: NYS Museum, West Corridor
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How Public Libraries Can Better Serve People with Developmental Disabilities (Or Any Other Type of Disabilities!)
Date: Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm
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Join the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities for this webinar providing guidance for libraries. Topics covered will include:
- An overview of the Americans with Disabilities Act
- The importance and value of lived experience
- How libraries can welcome people with disabilities
- Information and clarification regarding service animals
- How libraries can improve their buildings or collections to be more accessible
- What library staff can do to communicate better with people with disabilities
- What kind of programs libraries could offer, and how to make these more accessible to all
This webinar is part of our wider series, Room for Everyone, intended to help libraries deepen their accessibility offerings for their community.
| | New York Culture and History Lecture Series | |
Statue of Liberty
Date: Thursday, July 10, 2025
Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm
| In 1865, a group of French intellectuals came up with the idea of building some kind of monument in the United States to commemorate Abraham Lincoln's emancipation of the enslaved. Over the next 21 years, a small cadre of Frenchmen (including the sculptor, Auguste Bertholdi) worked tirelessly to generate support for the project on both sides of the Atlantic. Meanwhile, the Statue was gradually designed, constructed, shipped to the United States. And finally, in 1886, it took its place on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor. By then, the connection to Lincoln had been pretty well forgotten, but the Statue has ruled ever since as a transcendent symbol of American liberty. | |
Native Nations: A Millennium in North America
Date: Thursday, July 17, 2025
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
| Join author Dr. Kathleen DuVal, professor of history at UNC-Chapel Hill, as she discusses her 2025 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Native Nations. A millennium ago, North American cities rivaled urban centers around the world in size. Then, following a period of climate change and instability, numerous smaller nations emerged, spreading egalitarian government structures, diplomacy, and complex economies across North America. For centuries afterward, Indigenous people maintained an upper hand and used Europeans in pursuit of their own interests. Centering on Indigenous nations, Kathleen DuVal shows how the definitions of power and means of exerting it shifted over time, but the sovereignty and influence of Native peoples remained a constant—and will continue far into the future. | | Preservation Practices for Every Library | |
DHPSNY Workshops and Webinars
Date: July 11, 12, & 17, 2025
Time: Varies
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DHPSNY offers a variety of educational programs and services to qualifying New York institutions. Presented free of charge throughout the state, DHPSNY’s programs address the needs of professionals and volunteers responsible for the care and handling of historical records. DHPSNY’s workshops and webinars discuss emerging issues and best practices, with content scaled to apply to small- and medium-sized organizations with limited resources.
The following program(s) will be offered this month:
- Collective Wisdom: Collaborative Learning to Support Your Community Archiving Projects
- Climate Resilience & Sustainability: Collections Care for the Future
DHPSNY is a service provided by the NYS Library and NYS Archives to support preservation practices at New York's cultural institutions.
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Room for Everyone
The New York State Library is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act with a new initiative focusing on accessibility in libraries.
We're kicking things off with Room for Everyone: A Library Accessibility Day of Learning, an in-person event occurring from 10am until 3:30pm, Wednesday, July 9, at the Huxley Theater in the New York State Museum.
Register for Room for Everyone: A Library Accessibility Day of Learning
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Accessibility Tips
Digital accessibility practices are essential to making sure that information is available to all users. By following accessibility practices in our day-to-day work, we can ensure equitable access to information and services, and we can shift our culture more generally toward inclusivity.
Each month, the OCE Accessibility for All Committee shares one digital accessibility tip on the NYS Library blog.
Explore Accessibility Tips on the NYS Library blog.
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