by Emily Rennie, Archivist for the Levittown History Collection
If you have come to the library in the past 40 years, you might have noticed the wood-carved mural hanging in the reference area. This mural was originally created by Stanley Kaplan for the school library at Levittown Memorial High School in 1959.
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| Library workers standing in front of the installed mural, 1984? Identifier: MUR.P012 |
There is much nostalgia among long-time residents of Levittown for the Public Library’s bookmobile. This neighborhood service took the library to the streets of Levittown, making books available to the community outside of the library’s brick-and-mortar from 1952-1995.
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| Bookmobile staff welcoming residents onto a bookmobile, 1967-09. Identifier: PHO.650 |
By Emily Rennie, Archivist for the Levittown History Collection
Just before 3 in the afternoon on Friday, June 30 in 1972, Milly Mundy was working at the Levittown Public Library, using the adding machine at the end of her desk when she smelled smoke.¹ She looked over through an open door to the basement, and there she saw the flames stretching towards the ceiling.¹ Milly calmly began telling the staff to evacuate.¹
At the same time, Stephen Hauptman was shelving books in storage when he heard crackling and turned to see the thickening smoke.² He walked down the wide passageway towards the fire where he found a fire extinguisher near the door to Technical Services.² Unfortunately, he had no idea how to use one.²
When Milly reached Ken Anderson and told him about the fire, he went to see it for himself.³ Ken entered the basement from Technical Services and stood pensively, a few feet from the fire.³ That’s when he noticed Stephen holding a fire extinguisher in his hands.³ Ken took the extinguisher from Stephen and ran into the fire, trying to put it out, but the heat was already too intense.³ He left, back through the Technical Services door, and evacuated the building with everyone else.³
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Firemen Entering Levittown Public Library, 1972 June 30. Photograph by Shelton Photographers. |
By Emily Rennie, Archivist for the Levittown History Collection
Libraries provide communities with many resources and services, but foremost, they are about connecting people to books. Readers frequently depend on librarians for personal recommendations of what to read next. This matchmaking art between reader and book is what we know professionally as readers’ advisory. One long-standing advisory practice is the creation of mass-produced handouts featuring curated reading lists. Preserved today in the Levittown History Collection, these ephemeral materials have become historical records that reveal how librarians promoted reading and how social priorities, interests, and norms in Levittown were shaped and reflected through the books residents were encouraged to read.
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Readers’ advisory handouts from the Levittown History Collection, Levittown Public Library (Vertical File, Levittown Public Library: Printed Material/Programs, Folder 1), Levittown, N.Y. |
By Emily Rennie, Archivist for the Levittown History Collection
This January marks 75 years since the Levittown Public Library was officially chartered. To honor its diamond anniversary, the Levittown History Collection Blog will be spotlighting the history of the library.
A public library was not a part of the initial planned community of Levittown, but the need for one was nearly immediately felt. By January 1950, motivated residents from Levittown and Island Trees formed the Library Planning Committee with the goal of establishing a joint public library for the Levittown and Island Trees School Districts.¹ They held their first meeting on February 16, 1950, at the home of Clyde Kamitchis.² Members of the committee laid the groundwork for establishing and sustaining the library, worked to familiarize the community with the advantages a library would provide, and organized the vote in the districts to fund it.
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| Library Planning Committee. (1950). [Whether You’re…]. Levittown History Collection, Levittown Public Library (Vertical File, Levittown Public Library Planning Committee), Levittown, N.Y. |