Previous Programs and Projects
Roe Jan Writers Series: John Wiswell
July 25, 2024
Local author John Wiswell reads from and discusses his debut novel, Someone You Can Build a Nest In, which follows Shesheshen, a shapeshifting monster who lives in abandoned ruins. After being injured by monster hunters, she’s rescued by the kindly Homily, a human who mistakes Shesheshen for a fellow human. As Homily nurses her back to health, the two grow closer than either imagined possible. The more smitten she gets, the harder it is for Shesheshen to keep her secret. She is about to confess when Homily reveals why she’s here: she’s hunting a terrible shapeshifting monster. Has Shesheshen seen it anywhere?
John Wiswell won the Nebula Award for Best Short Story for “Open House on Haunted Hill,” and the Locus Award for Best Novelette for That Story Isn’t the Story. He has also been nominated for the Hugo, World Fantasy, and British Fantasy Awards. His fiction has been translated into ten languages. His debut novel, Someone You Can Build a Nest In, was released in April 2024 by DAW Books and was named one of the best Science Fiction and Fantasy books of the season by The Guardian, Amazon, Ingram, BookPage, and The Library Journal.
Tech Labs on Zoom: AI & ChatGPT
April 10, 2024
In need of some tech pointers? The Columbia County Libraries Association presents a series of six online Tech Labs designed for those seeking help managing basic to moderate functions like email, file sharing, navigation, storage, and more. All labs will be presented by our resident tech guru, Pam Doran, on Zoom.
ChatGPT — the artificial intelligence (AI)-infused chatbot that you can converse with as if it were a fellow human bein — can spit out term papers, produce poetry, concoct recipes or create pages for your upcoming novel in roughly the time you need to read this sentence. In this Lab, find out why the world is talking about AI and learn how to use it. Already using ChatGPT? Find out how to write better prompts.
Tech Labs on Zoom: Computer Security & Scams
March 27, 2024
In need of some tech pointers? The Columbia County Libraries Association presents a series of six online Tech Labs designed for those seeking help managing basic to moderate functions like email, file sharing, navigation, storage, and more. All labs will be presented by our resident tech guru, Pam Doran, on Zoom.
These days, with cyber attacks intensifying, it’s even more important to protect yourself by keeping safe on the Internet. In this Lab, learn about cyber security and how you can protect yourself from hackers and online scams, avoid falling prey to viruses and phishing emails, manage your passwords, secure your data, and understand security attacks! There are many ways to protect yourself online. Come learn two important ways how to succeed.
To view the slideshow prepared for the presentation, click here.
Tech Labs on Zoom: Language & Translation Apps/ Software
March 6, 2024
In need of some tech pointers? The Columbia County Libraries Association presents a series of six online Tech Labs designed for those seeking help managing basic to moderate functions like email, file sharing, navigation, storage, and more. All labs will be presented by our resident tech guru, Pam Doran, on Zoom.
Do you need to communicate in a different language or just want to learn how to speak one? Find out about free apps that can help you. In this Lab, you will learn how to convert text from one language to another to quickly and easily translate words and phrases in a foreign language to make it easier to communicate with people who speak different languages.
Finding Julia: Centering Black Women in Antebellum History
Join us for a virtual discussion of The Vice President’s Black Wife: The Untold Life of Julia Chinn, by Amrita Chakrabarti Myers.
Martin Van Buren Park Rangers will lead a discussion of this new book on Julia Chinn, the enslaved wife of Richard Mentor Johnson, Martin Van Buren’s VP.
Tech Labs on Zoom: iPhone Photos
February 21, 2024
In need of some tech pointers? The Columbia County Libraries Association presents a series of six online Tech Labs designed for those seeking help managing basic to moderate functions like email, file sharing, navigation, storage, and more. All labs will be presented by our resident tech guru, Pam Doran, on Zoom.
There are hidden features on your iPhone to help you take better and exciting pictures. Come find out more! In this Lab you will learn how to store, synchronize, and share photos as well as manage your photo library, get familiar with iPhone & smartphone photography tips and tricks on taking pictures, and find out about hidden features.
Tech Labs on Zoom: Library Apps
February 7, 2024
In need of some tech pointers? The Columbia County Libraries Association presents a series of six online Tech Labs designed for those seeking help managing basic to moderate functions like email, file sharing, navigation, storage, and more. All labs will be presented by our resident tech guru, Pam Doran, on Zoom.
In this Lab, learn how to access library books, magazines and all sorts of digital services and learning tools from your computer or phone at home or anywhere remotely! Learn how to utilize library apps and download them to your phone, tablet or laptop for use at home, how to check out ebooks and audiobooks with Libby and Overdrive, and stream video and music services with Kanopy and Hoopla and all free from the library!
Tech Labs on Zoom: Google Search
January 24, 2024
In need of some tech pointers? The Columbia County Libraries Association presents a series of six online Tech Labs designed for those seeking help managing basic to moderate functions like email, file sharing, navigation, storage, and more. All Tech Labs will be presented by our resident tech guru, Pam Doran, on Zoom.
In this Lab, learn tips and tricks to optimize ways to use Google search. Find ways to make your life easier and possibly save money too! Get the ins and outs of Google searching, utilizing tabs, quotes, and hyphens. Learn how to search and find the pages and websites you want.
Roe Jan Writers Series: Julie Gale
January 10, 2024
Join local author and chef Julie Gale as she discusses her new memoir, The View From My Kitchen Window, a chronological journey of the kitchens in the author’s life. The book is a memoir of her life through the stories and the recipes of the family and friends who raised her. The stories center on the delicious food prepared and the characters who cooked them. The original drawings have been designed specifically for this book by the author and her son, Tobias. The book includes 110 recipes, which represent foods of the times, from the 1950s to the present day, including many family heirlooms on little scraps of paper that would have disintegrated had they not been preserved in the book.
Julie Gale opened At the Kitchen Table Cooking School in 2001 in Westchester County, NY. At the same time, she was the writer of a food column, Dine and Wine, for the Larchmont Gazette. She was the recipe developer for the children’s book I Want to Cook. She taught cooking as a guest at Williams College, Olana, A Different Drummer, and the Chef’s Shop in Great Barrington, MA. She was the cooking instructor at The Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School and the Retreat chef at the Won Dharma Center for several years. Gale received a Master’s in Community Social Work from Yeshiva University and maintained a private practice advising parents through the Special Education process in Westchester County until moving to Columbia County. She lives in rural Hillsdale with her husband, and together they have four grown children who live in Hudson, Nashville, Boulder and London.
Roe Jan Writers Series: Maureen McNeil
December 13, 2023
Local author Maureen McNeil will read from and discuss her latest book, Anna Magdalena, which is the first of a trilogy. All three novels take place partly in Columbia County as well as New York City. The second, Tinker Street, a prequel to Anna Magdalena, is a coming of age story and will be published in January of 2024. And the third, Clover Reach, is due out in 2025.
Performance artist Anna Magdalena splays her audience open and leaves them begging for more. More life. More freedom. More imagination. By redefining family, history, myth, time and identity, she prompts readers to take action and forge a life of extraordinary beauty. Anna Magdalena is a contemporary novel about the power of art, love and imagination in its many forms.
Maureen McNeil is an author, artist, and activist from the Pacific Northwest, based in Brooklyn and the Hudson Valley. She was a finalist for the 2021 Tiferet Fiction Prize and won second place for the 2021 Barry Lopez Nonfiction Prize. Her books include Red Hook Stories (2008), about the Brooklyn neighborhood in the 1980s; Dear Red: The Lost Diary of Marilyn Monroe, A Work of Fiction (2017); Wild Blueberries (2022), a collection of short stories; and Anna Magdalena (2022). McNeil has lectured designed and taught writing workshops in partnership with arts and cultural organizations, such as Anne Frank Center USA, PEN America Prison Program, Prison Public Memory Project, Yad Vashem, the Morgan Library, Skidmore College and the Woodstock Day School, among others.
Roe Jan Writers Series: Phyllis Carito
November 8, 2023
Phyllis Carito, MFA, is a local poet, writer, and educator. Her published writing includes the books barely a whisper, The Stability of Trees in the Winds of Grief, Worn Masks, and a collaborative book, Travel Light and Other Explorations. Her other works are included in the books Gathering Flowers: Living with the Death of a Child, Gray Love, and literary magazines Passenger Journal, Voices in Italian Americana, Trolley (NYS Writer’s Institute), Mediterranean Review and Persimmon Tree. She enjoys teaching creative writing and working with other writers in fiction, flash fiction, and poetry.
Phyllis introduces her new novel More Than Making Ends Meet and discusses her writing process.
Webinar: Wind Energy in New York State
October 30, 2023
Learn about wind power development in New York State. We discuss how and why New York is pursuing projects to create electricity using wind energy and producing no air pollution, both on land and at sea, as well as where this construction is planned and what these turbines will look like.
The program was presented by Anne Reynolds, executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY), a broad coalition dedicated to promoting clean energy, energy efficiency, a healthy environment, and a strong economy in the Empire State. ACE NY has grown to include the New York Offshore Wind Alliance and the Friends of Upstate NY Wind Power. Anne Reynolds has served as executive director of ACE NY since 2014. In that role she has successfully advocated for New York’s 70% Clean Energy Standard and a NYSERDA procurement program to support that mandate, the development of an offshore wind program, and more. Prior to ACE, Ms. Reynolds served as a Deputy Commissioner at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in the role of chief financial and operations officer and as Assistant Commissioner for Policy and Planning, which included legislative affairs. Before DEC, she covered air and energy issues for Environmental Advocates of New York; worked at the Tellus Institute for Energy and Environmental Strategies in Boston, and at the US Environmental Protection Agency Region II in NYC. She holds a Master of Environmental Studies from Yale and a BS in Biology and Environmental Studies from Tufts.
This program was part of the 2023 Columbia County Community Read, sponsored by the Columbia County Libraries Association, with financial support from Humanities New York, The Ackerman Foundation, the Rheinstrom Hill Community Foundation, the Bank of Greene County, and the Crandell Theater.
Webinar: Meet the Illustrator: Liz Zunon
October 5, 2023
Join us for an exciting webinar with the illustrator of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Liz Zunon. Drawing and painting have always been among the most important things to Zunon. She was born in Albany, NY and grew up in the Ivory Coast, West Africa. One of her earliest memories is of the proud feeling she had when she first learned to write the letter “E” for her name. Surrounded by the bright, vibrant colors of everyday West African fabrics and tropical vegetation, Elizabeth’s love of color and pattern only grew. After returning to the United States, Elizabeth attended the Rhode Island School of Design and graduated with a B.F.A in Illustration in 2006. Her illustrated picture book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind was chosen as one of Amazon’s Best Children’s Books of 2012. She now lives back in Albany with her husband and young son, where she explores a multiracial world through painting, beading, sewing, and collage.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is the chosen book for Columbia County’s 2023 Community Read Initiative. The Columbia County Libraries Association (CCLA) has organized a countywide community read to encourage people throughout the county to read a common book and come together for discussions and programs around the themes presented in the book.
Roe Jan Writers Series: Dr. Irma Waldo
September 20, 2023
Dr. Irma Waldo reads from and discusses her memoir, The Doctor Wore High Heels, published by The Troy Book Makers in early 2023. Irma Waldo is ninety-eight years old and among the first women admitted to medical school at the University of Buffalo during World War II. Her memoir focuses on her time practicing medicine as a rural doctor in Columbia County and the challenges she faced as a woman physician serving farmers and their families. This program was presented in-person and online and co-sponsored by the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society. Books are available to purchase by clicking here.
Roe Jan Writers Series: Peter Matthiessen Wheelwright
August 9, 2023
Peter Matthiessen Wheelwright, nephew of three-time National Book Award Winner Peter Matthiessen, will discuss and read from his latest novel, The Door-Man, named as “One of the Best Books of 2022” by The New Yorker.
The Door-Man is a work of historical fiction with local interest. It is based on actual events at the doomed Catskill mountain town of Gilboa, NY, and the extraordinary fossil discovery that almost saved it during construction of an upstate reservoir for New York City’s water supply system in 1917. Narrated by a NYC doorman during the decommissioning of the Central Park Reservoir in 1993, the novel traces the consequences across three generations of the flooded town, the patronized woman who made the fossil identification, and the violence that occurred in the clash of Nature and the City.
Mr. Wheelwright grew up in the Berkshires and has maintained a home in Columbia County (Gallatin) since 1987. Trained as an architect at Princeton University, he practiced in New York City where he was also the Chair of the Architecture Department at Parsons School of Design, The New School. After retiring from professional practice in 2010, he began writing fiction. His first novel, As It Is On Earth, received a 2013 PEN/Hemingway Award for Literary Excellence in Debut Fiction. He is currently working on a collection of short stories titled Adam’s Navel.
Webinar: The Story of Japanese-Internment during World War II
May 30, 2023
Join Peter H. Irons, the lawyer who represented the Japanese Americans whose internment convictions were overturned in the 1980s for an online discussion of one of the most disturbing events in US history–the internment of American citizens of Japanese descent during World War II. Peter Irons is an American political activist, civil rights attorney, legal scholar, and professor emeritus of political science at University of California, San Diego. He has authored many books on the US Supreme Court and constitutional litigation.
Sponsored by the Columbia County Libraries Association.
Roe Jan Writers Series: Ned Schneier
May 10, 2023
Local author Ned Schneier discusses his updated book, New York Politics: A Tale of Two States (3rd ed., 2023, coauthors Antoinette Pole and Anthony Maniscalco).
New York Politics examines aspects of state government that are often hidden in the secret sessions of the parties’ legislative conferences: the closed-door budget; a complicated array of opaque agencies, authorities, and local governments; and a campaign finance system that lacks transparency. New York is unique among the American states in its sharp regional and demographic divisions, making it difficult to govern. Ned (as we know the senior author) can help understand how it manages and fails.
Dr. Schneier, in addition to his career teaching political science at Colgate, Princeton and the City College of New York, has served as Professor-in-Re
Tech Lab: Travel Apps – Navigation, Translation, Transportation & Maps
May 1, 2023
In need of some tech pointers? The Columbia County Libraries Association presents a series of six online labs designed for those seeking help managing basic to moderate functions like email, file sharing, navigation, storage, and more. All labs are presented on Zoom.
Tech Lab: Library Apps – Libby, E-books, Audiobooks
April 17, 2023
In need of some tech pointers? The Columbia County Libraries Association presents a series of six online labs designed for those seeking help managing basic to moderate functions like email, file sharing, navigation, storage, and more. All labs are presented on Zoom.
Roe Jan Writers Series: Judy Staber
April 12, 2023
Local author Judy Staber discusses and reads from her new memoir, Rise Above It, Darling, a story of the theater and of mother-daughter relationships.
Judy Staber came to America in 1959 and has worked in the visual and performing arts for all her American life. After a career in the theatre as an actor and stage manager, she later worked briefly as a reporter and then began a career in public relations and arts promotion. In the 1990s, she moved to Columbia County from the Berkshires and from 1996 through 2004 she was executive director for the Spencertown Academy. In 2010, she published her memoir Silverlands Growing Up at the Actors Orphanage.
Her new book, Rise Above It, Darling, is a biographical memoir about her mother, Joan White, who worked for sixty-five years in the theatre both in England and North America.
Tech Lab: Taking Control of Your Gmail – Managing and Organizing
March 13, 2023
Overwhelmed by your inbox? Learn to make your Gmail more suited to your needs.
In need of some tech pointers? The Columbia County Libraries Association presents a series of six online labs designed for those seeking help managing basic to moderate functions like email, file sharing, navigation, storage, and more. All labs are presented on Zoom.
To watch past programs, go to Columbia County Libraries Association website.
Roe Jan Writers Series: David Nasaw & Dinitia Smith
March 8, 2023
Taghkanic residents David Nasaw and Dinitia Smith read from and discuss their most recent works.
David Nasaw’s The Last Million: Europe’s Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War is the story of the refugees left behind in Germany at war’s end: Jews who had survived the Holocaust, Eastern European forced and slave laborers deported against their will to Germany, and collaborator
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Dinitia Smith is the award-winning author of five novels, most recently, The Prince, a contemporary retelling of Henry James’ novel The Golden Bowl, which was published in April. Her novel, The Illusionist, about a young transgendered man, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Her short stories have been published in numerous journals. For eleven years, she was also a reporter for the New York Times where she wrote about the literary world and ideas and intellectual trends. She is also an Emmy Award-winning film maker, and her drama, Passing Quietly Through, was chosen for the New York Film Festival and has been shown at the Whitney Museum and the Museum of Modern Art.
Hot Topics in Healthy Aging – Clearing Up Common Questions: Health Literacy and Choosing a Doctor
March 1, 2023
The sixth in a series of interactive lectures by Dr. Paul Spector designed especially for seniors but of interest to all.
Assessing the validity and significance of research reports and health news is not easy. Never has it been more important to have “health literacy.” COVID has forced us to make decisions about social distancing, masks, vaccinations and boosters. A method for interpreting such data will be provided. In addition a brief guide to choosing a doctor will be presented.
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Tech Lab: Managing Your Cell Phone Storage – All Phones
February 27, 2023
Make sure your phone isn’t using any unnecessary storage and free up some space for the important things. Presented by the Columbia County Libraries Association.
Anti-Slavery Pre-Civil War in Columbia County
February 20, 2023
Columbia County was an important and vibrant place in the first half of the 19th century. Temperance, reform movements, and Underground Railroad activity were part of the antebellum period. Numerous freedom seekers made their way to the region, some to settle, some to find respite before moving on, knowing that support was available from abolitionists, both black and white, who made the region their home.
This webinar, presented by The Underground Railroad Education Center, brings to the public the historically documented accounts of both freedom seekers and abolitionists and highlights the leadership roles occupied by African American abolitionists, identifying who they were, what they did, where they engaged in their activities as they sought to ensure that the promises of our nation’s Declaration of Independence were available to all. This program was sponsored by the Columbia County Libraries Association.
Tech Lab: Pam’s Secret Tips and Tricks for iPhone
February 13, 2023
In need of some tech pointers? The Columbia County Libraries Association presents a series of six online labs designed for those seeking help managing basic to moderate functions like email, file sharing, navigation, storage, and more. All labs presented on Zoom. In this session, learn about little-known iPhone features and how to use your iPhone more effectively.
Hot Topics in Healthy Aging – Clearing Up Common Questions:
Weight Management
February 1, 2023
The fifth in a series of interactive lectures by Dr. Paul Spector designed especially for seniors but of interest to all.
This universal problem will be examined in the context of new research that helps explain why the old calories in – calories out model does not work and what does.
Paul Spector earned his medical degree at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. After years of clinical experience Dr. Spector formed Pantheon and Meaningful Fitness (personalized health organizations designed to assist individuals in attaining their highest level of function). Over the past 15 years his focus has been on preventive health, behavioral change, motivation, aging, meaningful goal-setting and how to apply scientific advances to maximize both physical and psychological peak fitness. Dr. Spector works with private clients and corporations in New York City and Hudson, NY. He is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post where he reports on the often confusing and contradictory health news. He has written on a wide range of topics including the effect of sedentary behavior on health and cognition, the microbiome, diet and depression, blood sugar levels and brain function, supplements, anti-ageing techniques, cancer detection, new research on muscle, hormesis (the health benefits of certain types of stress), how we assess risk and make decisions, what constitutes fitness, and much more.
This program was presented in person and online.
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Tech Lab: Photo Sharing and Archive Management
January 30, 2023
Learn how to store, synchronize, and share files, and create and edit documents.
Webinar: Figure Skating in the Gilded Age
January 24, 2023
Figure skating has changed dramatically in the last 100 years. The clothes, skates, ice surfaces, and various moves have become more acrobatic than 100 years ago. Figure skating was very popular among the wealthy women of the Gilded Age. Join Maria Reynolds, curator at Staatsburg State Park and an avid skater, to learn about the history of competitive skating, early indoor ice rinks, fashion, and maneuvers. This Zoom program was presented by the Columbia County Libraries Association.
Genealogy Basics: How to Start, What to Look For, Where to Search
January 18, 2023
Are you interested inyour family history beyond dates, delving into historical documents to discover relatio
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This presentation was provided by the Columbia County Libraries Association and the North Chatham Free Library and is supported in part by the Fund for Columbia County, a fund of the Berkshire Taconic Foundation, and the Bank of Green County Charitable Foundation.
Roe Jan Writers Series: Maryann Barto
January 11, 2023
Maryann Barto grew up in West Taghkanic Proper family with her basket-making mother, which gave her the inspiration to write A Story from a Basket Maker’s Daughter: The Hill. Her family’s stories have been living history and enhanced her love for researching forgotten history to include in her writing. Maryann will read from and discuss her new novel, set in a rustic village known as The Hill, whose members have depended upon one another for survival, fearing the consequences of their secrets and the changes around them.
Maryann graduated from Columbia Greene Community College with an associate’s degree Human Services. She went on to achieve a bachelor’s degree at Empire State College in Community and Human Services, which allowed her the opportunity to work with diverse communities for over 30 years. She now resides in the Adirondack Region of New York with her husband and their pets.
Recording of Lindenwald’s Amazing Historically Accurate Wallpaper
December 12, 2022
Lindenwald, Martin Van Buren’s historic home, is awash in amazing historically accurate wallpaper. Martin Van Buren National Historic Site Museum Specialist Mike Wasko will provide a look at how the park reproduced wallpaper using historical evidence, the reproduction of the wallpaper, and the result of the rooms being returned to original state.
Mike Wasko has been the Museum Specialist for Martin Van Buren NHS since 2009. He has worked as a museum tech and an interpretive tour guide. Mike has a Bachelor’s Degree in History from West Chester University in Pennsylvania and a Master’s Degree in Public History from SUNY Albany. Originally from Northeastern PA, he currently lives in East Greenbush.
This Zoom program was sponsored by the Columbia County Libraries Association.
Recording of Hot Topics in Healthy Aging – Clearing Up Common Questions: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sleep but Were Too Tired to Ask
December 7, 2022
The fourth in a series of interactive lectures by Dr. Paul Spector designed especially for seniors but of interest to all.
In this lecture we will go over a new understanding of the function of sleep and methods to improve sleep problems.
Paul Spector earned his medical degree at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. After years of clinical experience Dr. Spector formed Pantheon and Meaningful Fitness (personalized health organizations designed to assist individuals in attaining their highest level of function). Over the past 15 years his focus has been on preventive health, behavioral change, motivation, aging, meaningful goal-setting and how to apply scientific advances to maximize both physical and psychological peak fitness. Dr. Spector works with private clients and corporations in New York City and Hudson, NY. He is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post where he reports on the often confusing and contradictory health news. He has written on a wide range of topics including the effect of sedentary behavior on health and cognition, the microbiome, diet and depression, blood sugar levels and brain function, supplements, anti-ageing techniques, cancer detection, new research on muscle, hormesis (the health benefits of certain types of stress), how we assess risk and make decisions, what constitutes fitness, and much more.
This program was presented in person and online.
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Recording of History Webinar: Martin Van Buren’s Politics of Slavery
November 14, 2022
Martin Van Buren’s stance on slavery presents many questions. Often, the former President is considered to have been anti-slavery or an abolitionist later in life, but is that really the case? Martin Van Buren grew up in a household with enslaved people and knew how to use slavery for political gain, regardless of moral considerations. Join Martin Van Buren National Historic Site Park Guide Zachary Anderson to learn more about Van Buren’s politics of slavery.
Zachary Anderson is a 2016 graduate from the Georgia Southern University Recreation and Tourism Management program. Zachary is in his third year as a Park Guide with Martin Van Buren National Historic Site.
Presented by the Columbia County Libraries Association and the Martin Van Buren National Historical Site.
Recording of Roe Jan Writers Series
Gene Aronowitz, Phyllis Carito, Philip Palladino, and Al Stumph
November 9, 2022
Local writers Gene Aronowitz, Phyllis Carito, Philip Palladino, and Al Stumph share their new book, Travel Light and Other Explorations. Members of the 10:00 Wednesday writing collective, named for the time they meet to support and critique each other’s writings, will read from their poetry, essays, memoirs, and fiction and talk about their collaborative enterprise.
Recording of Hot Topics in Healthy Aging – Clearing Up Common Questions: Aging
November 2, 2022
To access the companion slide show to this lecture, click here.
The third in a series of interactive lectures by Dr. Paul Spector designed especially for seniors but of interest to all.
Some now argue that aging is a pathology that can be treated. This program will present a review of the remarkable advances in our understanding of aging and how to slow it down.
Paul Spector earned his medical degree at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. After years of clinical experience Dr. Spector formed Pantheon and Meaningful Fitness (personalized health organizations designed to assist individuals in attaining their highest level of function). Over the past 15 years his focus has been on preventive health, behavioral change, motivation, aging, meaningful goal-setting and how to apply scientific advances to maximize both physical and psychological peak fitness. Dr. Spector works with private clients and corporations in New York City and Hudson, NY.
This program was presented in person and online.
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Recording of Roe Jan Writers Series: Howard Blue
October 12, 2022
Local historian Howard Blue discusses his new book, The Man Who Sold Superman to the World: How Carroll Rheinstrom Made DC Comics Go Global.
Carroll Rheinstrom (1904-1994), a consummate businessman, lived most of his life on a heavily wooded estate in the Craryville section of Copake. The book recalls Rheinstrom’s first appearance as one of a group of Boy Scouts who came from Manhattan to Copake Falls in 1918. That summer long camping trip in which the young man began a life-long friendship with Sterling Wyckoff, a local farmer sowed the seeds of Rheinstrom’s more than six decade connection with Copake.
In addition to giving a snapshot of Copake Falls as it was more than a century ago, Blue recounts how Rheinstrom represented DC Comic Books to publishers around the world for more than three decades, starting in 1948. Traveling to the four corners of the globe, he exported American culture and values, particularly via Superman.
Howard Blue is Copake Town Historian. He has an M.A. in History from Long Island University. Since 2012 he has published the Copake History Facebook page and spoken periodically about the town’s history at the Roe Jan Library and several other institutions.
This program was presented in person and on Zoom.
Recording of Full Circle: Washington Irving at Lindenwald:
Free History Webinar
October 3, 2022
America’s first literary celebrity, Washington Irving, had a decades long friendship with our 8th president. Join Martin Van Buren National Historic Site seasonal Park Guide Melissa Dalley to learn how they met, why they had a falling out, and if they ultimately reconciled.
In addition to being a Park Guide, Melissa Dalley is an artist & writer. Having given tours at Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site many years ago, Melissa may have started this summer with an unfairly low opinion of Irving – Poe was not a fan. But after reading many of Irving’s letters she’s coming around.
This Zoom program was sponsored by the Columbia County Libraries Association
Recording of Align Your Money With Your Values:
Personal Divestment from Fossil Fuels
September 22, 2022
The Roeliff Jansen Community Library hosted Michael Richardson from the Rivers & Mountains GreenFaith Circle, who presents a free workshop on how individuals can move their personal finances away from funding fossil fuel extraction, production, and distribution and instead see their deposits, premiums, and investments used to fund local businesses and farms, affordable housing, and the development of clean regenerative energy. This workshop was part Hudson Valley Climate Solutions Week (September 17-25), a week designed to link and promote actionable climate solutions in the Hudson Valley through a diverse array of high-quality events large or small.
Recording of Roe Jan Writers Series:
Joe Gosler
This program took place on September 14, 2022
Local author Joe Gosler discusses his recent memoir, Searching for Home: The Impact of WWII on a Hidden Child, about his experiences as an infant placed in hiding during WWII in the Netherlands. The book entails the impact on the infant toddler, the return to his biological parents, and how for him a new war begins.
Joseph Gosler was born in Groningen, the Netherlands, during WWII and after the war he migrated to Israel with his family and subsequently to the United States, where he has lived since. His life’s journey has been a circuitous one and as a result he has often meandered off the main road. Mr. Gosler retired from Friends Seminary in 2004 and today is actively involved in several Quaker projects, writing, gardening, traveling and walking his dog. He lives in New York and Ancramdale.
This program was held in person and also as a virtual program.
This program was cosponsored by the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society. The RJHS exhibit on WWII, From the Home Front to the Front Lines, will be on display through September 2022.
Recording of The Life and Times of President Martin Van Buren:
A Free History Webinar
This program took place on September 12, 2022
One American president hails from Columbia County. While more obscure than many of our early presidents, as a member of the second generation of American politicians, President Van Buren inherited the challenges of interpreting the U.S. Constitution during the antebellum period and was central to the creation of our party system and to the crucial issues of his time, including American slavery. Park Ranger Dawn Olson of the Martin Van Buren National Historic Park introduces us to this relatively obscure president.
Dawn Olson has been hanging her park ranger hat at national parks, including Roosevelt Vanderbilt National Historic Site and Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, since May 1997. A summer job in Kinderhook led to a career of 25 years. Her favorite part is meeting visitors from around the United States and occasionally other countries.
This Zoom program was sponsored by the Columbia County Libraries Association.
Recording of Hot Topics in Healthy Aging:
How Do We Assess Risks to Our Health?
This program took place on September 7, 2022
The first in a series of interactive lectures by Dr. Paul Spector designed especially for seniors but of interest to all.
Today, most illness is caused by lifestyle, that is to say our choices. In this presentation we examine our innately flawed perception of risk and how we make systematic errors in our decisions because of the wiring of cognition, not because the wiring is corrupted by emotion.
Paul Spector earned his medical degree at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. After years of clinical experience Dr. Spector formed Pantheon and Meaningful Fitness (personalized health organizations designed to assist individuals in attaining their highest level of function). Over the past 15 years his focus has been on preventive health, behavioral change, motivation, aging, meaningful goal-setting and how to apply scientific advances to maximize both physical and psychological peak fitness.
Recording of Preparing for Future Home Ownership
This program took place on August 30, 2022
This webinar is an installment of the Habitat Helping Hands Homeowner Education Series. This session is geared for the person wishing to purchase a home in 2 or more years. In discussion:
– Renting versus Owning
– Insurance considerations
– The importance of a strong credit history and how to clean-up credit issues
– Budgeting for extra expenses
– Benefits of buying a duplex
This webinar was hosted by Tobi Farley, Director of the Philmont Public Library and presented by Stephanie Martin, Financial Wellness Coach and Shanatia Bygrave, Greenport/Hudson Branch Manager at Greylock Federal Credit Union; and Al Bellenchia, CEO of Columbia County Habitat for Humanity.
Homeownership Webinars are brought to you by a partnership between the Columbia County Libraries Association, Greylock Federal Credit Union, and Columbia County Habitat for Humanity.
Recording of Seed Saving 101: A Virtual Workshop
This program took place on August 29, 2022
Dirty Gaia and the Columbia County Libraries Association present an online workshop on saving seeds. Growing your own food from seed is rewarding. Learning how to save seeds for planting another season takes gardening to a new realm. Learn which fruits and veggies are best for seed saving and how to reserve a portion of your crop to let it grow to the seed-setting stage. In this virtual presentation, Sue Sie, creator of Dirty Gaia, demonstrates how to harvest the seeds, and takes you through the basics of wet (tomatoes, cucumbers, melons) and dry (beans, peas, kale, lettuce) threshing. These essential building blocks will support you through all your gardening days.
Recording of Senior Strength and Balance Class with Paul Spector
This program took place on August 25, 2022
Recording of Intro to Habitat for Humanity Helping Hands Program
This program took place on June 28, 2022
Do you need to find affordable housing? Are you struggling to make necessary home repairs and improvements? Are you considering home ownership?
Then watch to learn more about Columbia County Habitat’s affordable homeownership program and new Habitat Helping Hands homeowner services initiative, homeownership possibilities, financial wellness support services, and getting help to make home repairs and improvements.
This program was sponsored by Habitat for Humanity, Greylock Federal Credit Union, and the Columbia County Libraries Association.
Recording of Reducing the Waste Stream: The Role of Composting
This program took place on June 23, 2022
This program was presented by Zero Waste Columbia and the Columbia County Libraries Association.
Zero Waste Columbia (ZWC) is a citizen volunteer group committed to education and action that can move us toward zero waste in Columbia County. We seek to create a more sustainable and resilient world today and for future generations. Zero waste means we aim to send nothing to the landfill. We reduce what we need, reuse as much as possible, minimize what we recycle and compost whenever possible.
Recording of Implementing the NYS Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act
This program took place on May 16, 2022
Earth Day 2022 underscored the urgency of dealing with the global climate crisis. New York State has passed legislation to address the problem, through the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019. And on January 1, 2022, the 60-member body charged with laying out the steps needed to implement the act published its detailed roadmap for public comment.
While elected bodies regularly inform the public and invite input on proposed legislation, the scope of New York’s climate act makes public awareness and input especially important, because the changes required to reduce the impacts of global warming will affect major aspects of daily life—not only generating power, transportation, manufacturing, and agriculture but also how we heat and cool our homes, what we purchase, and how we dispose of our waste.
This informational program on the proposed implementation plan features an expert on the subject, former NYS State Senator Jen Metzger, who was an active member of the Senate’s working group that created the CLCPA. Sen. Metzger, a resident of Rosendale, NY, is currently senior advisor to New Yorkers for Clean Power and policy advisor to Partners for Climate Action Hudson Valley.
Additional input is provided by Peter Savio, of Schoharie, NY. Through his 19 years as a NYSERDA program manager, Mr. Savio has extensive experience developing clean energy solutions for commercial and institutional entities large and small and has worked closely with the state agencies that will have primary responsibility for implementing the CLCPA.
New Yorkers have only until June 10 to let the state’s Climate Action Council know their feelings.
This program is sponsored by the Columbia County Libraries Association and the Columbia County Chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby.
Recording of Tech Lab: Instagram
This program took place on March 28, 2022
Learn all about Instagram, a video and photo sharing social media platform, with Roe Jan Library tech guru Pam Doran.
This program is sponsored by the Roeliff Jansen Community Library, Hudson Area Library, Claverack Free Library, and Philmont Public Library.
Recording of Tech Lab: Facebook
This program took place on March 14, 2022
Social media permeates our lives. Learn more about the ins and outs of Facebook with Roe Jan Library tech guru Pam Doran.
This program is sponsored by the Roeliff Jansen Community Library, Hudson Area Library, Claverack Free Library, and Philmont Public Library.
Recording of Tech Lab: Library Apps
This program took place on March 7, 2022
Join Roe Jan Library tech guru to learn more about how to use the library’s e-book apps, Libby/Overdrive and Hoopla.
This program is sponsored by the Roeliff Jansen Community Library, Hudson Area Library, Claverack Free Library, and Philmont Public Library.
Recording of The Importance of Focus–For Getting More of What You Want in Life
This program took place on February 23, 2022
Do you want more out of life? Do you find yourself distracted? Do you wish you could be more focused and achieve more?
Former illusionist Greg Dwyer will show you how to create real magic in your life to get more of what you desire. Greg has worked backstage for Doug Henning’s The Magic Show and was seen by over six million people on CBS with The Late Show with David Letterman. Greg knows how to make the impossible possible and has traveled the world sharing his insights with others. If you want more out of life and would like to focus on making it happen, this interactive 60 minute online workshop is for you.
For lecture notes from this program, click HERE.
This program is sponsored by the Roeliff Jansen Community Library, Hudson Area Library, Claverack Free Library, and Philmont Public Library.
Recording of Tech Lab: Google Docs
This program took place on February 7, 2022
Take a deeper dive into Google Docs with Roe Jan Library’s tech guru Pam Doran and learn how to create, edit, and share documents. Google Docs is similar to Word, with a few different features, including the ability to share and edit collaboratively.
This program is sponsored by the Roeliff Jansen Community Library, Hudson Area Library, Claverack Free Library, and Philmont Public Library.
Recording of Books and Bridles: The Story of the Horse Back Librarians
This program took place on January 10, 2022
This presentation tells the story of the Pack Horse Library initiative, a little know program of the Roosevelt Administration’s WPA. Its mission, carried out almost entirely by women, was to deliver and distribute reading materials to the far off corners of Appalachia during the darkest hours of the Great Depression.
Presented by Jeffrey Urbin, educator from the Roosevelt Presidential Museum and Library in Hyde Park, NY and offered in collaboration with the Claverack Free Library, Hudson Area Library, Philmont Public Library, and the Roeliff Jansen Community Library.
Recording of FDR and Pearl Harbor
This program took place on December 13, 2021
This program was presented by Jeff Urbin, educator from the Roosevelt Presidential Museum and Library in Hyde Park.
Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor stunned the American public and galvanized support for the war. This session explores the questions “Should we have been, and could we have been, more prepared?”
This program was cosponsored by the Roeliff Jansen Community Library, Hudson Area Library, Claverack Free Library, and Philmont Public Library.
Recording of FDR, War President
This program took place on November 8th, 2021
President Roosevelt led the nation to victory in the world’s most colossal military struggle. This session explorers his extraordinary leadership and examines some of the major challenges he had to overcome to win victory in a global war.
Presented by Jeffrey Urbin, educator from the Roosevelt Presidential Museum and Library in Hyde Park, NY and offered in collaboration with the Claverack Free Library, Hudson Area Library, Philmont Public Library, and the Roeliff Jansen Community Library.
Columbia Land Conservancy presents Little Explorers: Animal Homes by Conservation Education Manager Heidi Bock
Recording of How to Make a Personal Memory Book
In honor of Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, we hosted a workshop on November 23rd in which we shared tips and tricks for making your own personal memory books, boxes, and activity kits. These creative collections are suitable for those suffering from memory loss, their caregivers, or anyone who is generally interested in compiling personal histories in fun and meaningful ways.
Recording of Birding for Beginners
This virtual program was presented on July 21 by the Sharon Audubon Center as an interactive way to learn more about the birds around you. This introduction covers the basics of observing, listening, identifying, and understanding bird behaviors.
The Sharon Audubon Center manages 4 nature centers in northwestern CT, hosts programs throughout the year, and houses a small natural history museum.
This program was cohosted by the Roeliff Jansen Community Library, Hudson Area Library, Claverack Free Library, and Philmont Public Library.
Recording of Estate Planning
Join Lorraine Coyle of Coyle & Associates LLP to learn about estate planning. This presentation will cover topics such as wills, trusts, power of attorney, health care proxies, and Medicaid planning to protect assets should one need nursing home care.
This Zoom program was presented as a collaboration between Roeliff Jansen Community Library, Hudson Area Library, Claverack Free Library, and Philmont Public Library. This program was recorded in April of 2021.
Columbia County Library Association Presents: Reader’s Theater
Reader’s Theater was a monthly gathering where volunteers performed live readings of short plays on Zoom. You can now view recordings of each performance through the links below:
October 2020 – The Game by Louise Bryant and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
November 2020 – Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm
December 2020 – A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
February 2021 – Assorted Fairy Tales
Virtual Art Galleries
Roeliff Jansen Community Library has hosted many online art workshops, where participants have learned about different artists and art forms, and crafted creations of their own. Check out the links below to browse some of the galleries from past workshops.
Mark Rothko
Graphic Novels
Matisse & His Cut-Outs
Eels & Other Fish of the Hudson River
In October 2020, environmental educator Aidan Mabey of the Hudson River Estuary Program hosted an online program about the wildlife of the Hudson River. A recording of the event is now available to watch at your leisure. Enjoy!
This program is brought to you by the combined forces of Roeliff Jansen Community Library, Hudson Area Library, Claverack Free Library, and Philmont Public Library.
Eels! A Hudson River Fish & How We Can Save Them
Environmental educator Aidan Mabey of the Hudson River Estuary Program hosted a special story hour in September 2020 about how we can help protect the wildlife of the Hudson River. The full story hour is now available to watch at your leisure. Enjoy!
This program is brought to you by the combined forces of Roeliff Jansen Community Library, Hudson Area Library, Claverack Free Library, and Philmont Public Library.
Senior Strength and Balance Class with Paul Spector
This program took place in August of 2020.
Quarantine Cooking with Julie Gale
Julie Gale, local business owner of At the Kitchen Table Cooking School in Hillsdale, NY, is sharing some great recipes with her home cooking tutorials. Click here to view Julie’s collection of cooking videos.
