LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY

the end of the year, covering Mobile Device Basics, Computer and Email Basics, Video Conferencing, Cybersecurity, and other digital topics. Workshops are being conducted by skilled trainers and are offered in both English and Spanish. 

The Greenburgh Public Library is proud to announce our new initiative, the Homework Help Center, happening Tuesdays from 5 -7. Join our Homework Help Coordinator and teen volunteers as they help kids grades 1-6 work on their after-school homework studies and projects.

Beginning October 4th, the Library is partnering with Regeneron to bring young patrons STEM programs in a new Library series called Re -STEM -eron. Each month, kids in grade K through 3 will be invited to participate in a story and science experiment conducted by Regeneron scientists and staff members.

This Fall, the Library will be home to another new series: The 1619 Project Docuseries Revisited. Join participants as they view one episode per session of the Hulu miniseries The 1619 Project , followed by a lively conversation with community facilitators. This series is co-sponsored by Bet Am Shalom Synagogue, Greenburgh Human Rights Advisory Committee, Greenburgh Public Library, White Plains/Greenburgh Chapter, Greenburgh/White Plains Chapter NAACP, and Woodlands Community Temple.  

The Library will also host monthly programs for teens with the organization Community Center without Walls. Each month, there will be a different program geared toward learning about the Library, study skills, and life skills. These programs are available to everyone ages 12-18, and all are welcome to register.

Christina Ryan-Linder

Library Director

NEW AT GPL

This fall we have concerts focusing on classical music, instrumental guitar, Rock, Latin & Jazz, and a lecture and recital on famous composers.

Our concerts are generously funded by the Friends of the Greenburgh Library  and a grant through Arts Wetschester.

Our Homework Help Coordinator is a certified teacher with over 25 years of experience. She, along with a team of vetted teen volunteers, will be in the Children’s Room to help with homework, studying, and research in a welcoming learning environment.

The Greenburgh Public Library Learning Lab strives to be a creative and nurturing space for multigenerational programs and workshops, hosted in a safe and healthy environment, utilizing local talent to help support these resources and activities, while highlighting the importance and positive impact these efforts have on the Greenburgh community.

Homework help is a great resource for students who need support in understanding class materials. However, homework help is not the same as tutoring. While homework help can provide quick answers to specific questions, tutoring offers more in-depth guidance and personalized instruction. The Greenburgh Public Library does not offer in-person tutoring services.

The ability to read, speak, think, and express ourselves freely is a right, not a privilege.  

The freedom to read is under attack across America. Censors targeted a record 2,571 unique titles in 2022, a 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021.

Coordinated efforts to remove books from public libraries and schools are increasing. Of the 1,477 reported book ban cases during the 2022-2023 school year, 74% are connected to organized efforts, mainly advocacy groups, elected officials, or enacted legislation.

Banning books is often about marginalizing or attempting to silence Black, LGBTQ, Indigenous, and Brown people by denying society access to their culture, stories, and history. Of the top 13 most banned books in 2022, seven included LBGTQ characters or themes.

The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. 

- ALA Freedom to Read Statement

Endorsed by the Greenburgh Public Library Board on July 25, 2023.

A banned book is a book that may be:

• removed from a library or libraries;

• not allowed to be published;

• not allowed to enter an entire country;

• not allowed to exist: to be physically destroyed, typically by burning, such as the notorious book burning in Nazi Germany.

• The most extreme form of banning is the death or demand for the author's death, as during the Inquisition or, more recently, with Salman Rushdie.

• A challenged book is one that someone has tried to ban but failed.

There were 1,269 challenges to books last year. The most book-banning attempts in 20 years. 

Read banned books, fight censorship , stand up for intellectual freedom, and make your own choices about what to read, think, and believe. 

Top 4 Most Challenged Books of 2022

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