Mendon Public Library’s 2011 Annual Report includes statistics, pictures and a great overview of library services. Check it out!
It’s been 150 years since the Civil War. In honor of the sesquicentennial, Mendon Public Library will offer a five-part discussion series exploring various pieces of literature and different facets of the Civil War experience.
The “Making Sense of the Civil War Discussion Series” will meet from 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, March 7, March 28, April 25, May 30, June 27, and July 25. Teens, adults and seniors are invited to attend.
Participants will read an assigned text–such as historians’ accounts; novels; speeches; proclamations and government documents; news accounts; and, journals and letters from eye-witnesses to the transformative events of the mid-19th century. Then they’ll discuss that text with fellow participants, as well as scholar-facilitator Bruce Peckham, a member of the library board of trustees, and co-facilitator Lynne Menz, village historian for Honeoye Falls. (Read the introductory essay here.)
This wonderful enrichment opportunity is offered to the community thanks to a grant from The New York Council for the Humanities. Participants are asked to attend the entire series. For more information or to register, call Mendon Public Library at 585.624.6067.
Siding is going up on the outside of the new library. It will be painted white to coordinate with the historic building. This photo was taken alongside the current library’s entrance, with Monroe Street at the photographer’s back. The door in the picture is the back door of the new library, where the truck from the Monroe County Library System will drop off materials you’ve put on hold, and pick up materials to be returned to other libraries in the system.
Setting the stage for Phase 2 of the new Mendon Public Library project, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has given HBT Architects its blessing on the plan to renovate the historic section of the current library, and on the project overall.
In a letter dated Oct. 13, John A. Bonafide, coordinator of historic preservation services, writes that the state
office of historic preservation finds that “no adverse impact” on the Honeoye Falls Historic District will come from implementing HBT’s plan for the new library, including the Phase 2 renovation of the historic 1936 portion of the library (the white building with the red door that faces Monroe Street). ”These plans called for the removal of a portion of the existing main floor and the establishment of the new main floor on the same level as the 1975 extension,” Bonafide wrote.
In fact, the plan for the historic building is to transform it into a lofted children’s area. In all, Phase 2 involves renovating the entire existing library (both the 1936 original structure and the 1975 extension) and connecting it to the new 7,300-square-foot library now being built in Phase 1.
“As designed, the project does not alter the existing historic qualities that make the district eligible for the National Register or those qualities that caused the library to be inclued as a contributing feature in the listed district’s streetscape. While the current interior space is interesting, with its built-in bookcases and extensive use of pine paneling, the loss of these elements will not impact the contributing status of the building within the district.”
Bonafide also explains in the letter that “the Honeoye Falls Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1993 with a period of significance that extended from ca. 1790 to 1940. It was designated as an intact and cohesive collection of 217 contributing resources that collectively convey the history of the community. The library (1936) is one of those contributing features. Its primary significance is in its place in the streetscape.”
My thanks to the Historical Society members and everyone who helped make this great news possible.**
**Update added October 20: See first comment.
