Academic Service-Learning

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“Warping” through Queens history with the NYPL Map Warper tool

insurance maps of the borough of queens, vol 2, 1915

Insurance Maps of the Borough of Queens, City of New York, Volume Two, published in 1915 and digitally reproduced on the NYPL Map Warper according to a CC0 1.0 license.

Authored by Maddy Vericker

The NYPL Map Warper is a collection of New York-area maps and atlases that have been digitized and published online under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication license.[1] The coolest thing about the Map Warper tool is that it is also a crowdsourcing project that relies on volunteers to pin old maps to modern satellite maps, a process called georectification.[2]  Exploring the maps that populate the website reveals much about the history of a city that is constantly evolving, and in researching the Sanborn Map Co.’s Insurance Maps of the Borough of Queens, City of New York, Volume Two,[3] these changes are even more apparent. Continue reading →

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St. John the Baptist High School: Vincentian in Spirit

Authored by Michael Bartolomeo

The Prophet, Vol. 2 No. 1. October, 1967.

The Prophet, Vol. 2 No. 1. October, 1967.

St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School was founded by the Diocese of Rockville Centre in 1966 as part of a project to construct three diocesan high schools on Long Island, New York.  With the objective of providing students the opportunity for a holistic Catholic education, its mission has long been one grounded in the core Vincentian values of Truth, Love, and Respect through a spirit of “accountability, trust, and justice […] tempered with compassion and understanding” (Mission Statement 2013).  Continue reading →

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The Holder of Knowledge

Authored by Danielle Griffith

DEUS SCIENTIAE EST DOMINUS

St. Albert Hall Inscription

Introduction

This inscription, Deus Scientiae est Dominus, translates to “God is the Lord of knowledge”. Artists Ferrenz and Taylor created the inscription that is located at St. John’s University’s Queens campus. It is inscribed outside of St. Albert Hall, which was built in 1956. St. Albert Hall houses the science department. St. John’s University made no mistake in carefully choosing the name of the hall where the science department is housed or the inscription on the building. Each was chosen carefully to depict a powerful, unified message. Continue reading →

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Dr. King and Selma: A limited View

Authored by Emily Lacey

Images of microfilm from the Staten Island Advance article on Dr. Kings arrest in Selma 2/1/1965.

Article written by unsourced author from the Staten Island Advances February 1, 1965 issue on Dr. King and his arrest in Selma, Alabama

Collection:

Microfilm was never something I had given any thought to throughout my research endeavors. So, when the opportunity arose to learn how to use it, and work with a collection of it, I was interested. Microfilm is interesting, in that during its prime it was an innovative way to house a large amount of materials. The New Dorp Library has an extensive collection of microfilm, every newspaper edition from the Staten Island Advance from 1964- 2008 is housed in filing cabinets, and reels of film for public use. The front page of a February 1, 1965 paper stood out to me, not because of the headline article, but because to the left with two small column was an article on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. being arrested in Selma. This little article, along with a follow up equally as short on page 9 was what the paper had representing this historic time.

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Mapping 19th Century London: A Place of Extreme Inequality

Authored by Christina Boyle

A map of London from 1815.

A map of 1815 London, England, published by “G. Jones.” The map is part of the digital collections of The New York Public Library.

This map of London, published in 1815, represents the large, bustling capital of England. Today, London is the metropolitan cultural center of Britain,1 but in the early 19th century, it was a city of the poor working class.2 During this time, renowned authors such as Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Charlotte Bronte were writing, setting their works in the London depicted in this map. The London that they knew was far different from that of today. This map depicts a city rich in history, with still-relevant main streets, docks, and landmarks that currently remain. It also captures the London that has been portrayed by these and other Napoleonic and Victorian writers: a smoggy and sooty city rife with poverty and distress. Continue reading →

An American in Berlin, 1936

Authored by Lindsay Jankovitz

Postcard written by J.J Cole to Edward J. Bartlett’s parents while at the Berlin Olympics, August, 1936 (front)

Postcard written by J.J Cole to Edward J. Bartlett’s parents while at the Berlin Olympics, August, 1936 (front)

This postcard was found among the collection I have been working with during my Academic Service-Learning component for course LIS 203 at Bard College. This collection details the letters of a student, Edward J. Bartlett, to his parents during his time at Bard College from 1936-1940 and while serving in World War II from 1943-1945. This postcard is unique in that it places Bartlett at the Berlin Olympics at a time when most Americans felt strongly about boycotting the event, and when many European scholars and artists were finding refuge at his college, including Hannah Arendt, Stefan Hirsch, and Werner Wolff. This postcard was written to Bartlett’s parents by J. J Cole, whose relationship to Edward J. Bartlett is currently unknown.



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The Ward Brothers, World Champion Rowers

	


		

		
Authored by Kerin Santos


Studio Portrait of the Ward Brothers, Joshua and Gilbert appear seated in front, Henry and Ellis are standing behind.
The Ward Brothers, Winners of the Saratoga International Regatta (Joshua, Henry, Gilbert, Ellis) – From a Photograph by Baker & Record, Saratoga Springs


A group of distinguished athletes – all brothers – lived in the beautiful riverfront town of Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York in the mid- to late-1800s (Norsen 1958, p. 20). These Ward Brothers took the world of competitive rowing by storm with their impressive talents. They were five of fourteen children born to Isaac and Winifred Ward. Isaac Ward, originally from Middle Hope outside of Newburgh, was an experienced seaman as a proprietor of fishing vessels, sloops, and “Yankee schooners” and was a hotel-owner as well (Norsen 1958, p.21). Isaac prided himself on teaching his sons to row and sail on the Hudson River from the time they were young and he shared with them everything he knew about the river and boats (Norsen 1958, p.21). From eldest to youngest, the brothers include William Henry (Hank), Charles, Joshua (Josh), Gilbert (Gil), and Ellis.


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The Development of Borough Park

	


		

		
Authored by Laura Dellova


Part of Ward 30, Section 17; Map bounded by 12th Ave., 49th St., 9th Ave.; Including 37th St., 10th Ave., 39th St.
Part of Ward 30, Section 17; Map bounded by 12th Ave., 49th St., 9th Ave.; Including 37th St., 10th Ave., 39th St.


It has been intriguing to rectify the maps through New York Public Library’s Map Warper Program. As I went forth on this project I immediately chose to work with a map from Brooklyn. This map—made in 1905 in the area we now know as Borough Park—shows an address that is very close to my heart. In 1925 my great-grandparents bought a house on 43rd between 12th and Fort Hamilton Avenue. It is the house where my grandmother spent her childhood years and years later the same house is where my parents lived when they first got married.


This is an important piece of my family history and I wanted to look into the development of this neighborhood. This map was made as a result of the areas suburbanization, transforming the once fertile farmland. In 1905 the twentieth assembly district known as Borough Park, the population was in total of 81,365 inhabitants.[1] 76,214 of those were citizens and the remaining 5,151 were foreigners, telling me that this was a neighborhood that catered more to those who were already citizens. This number was important in my understanding of the history and the social as well as physical growth of Borough Park as a community. Continue reading →

			

	
	



			
				



	
	


		
					

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Take Up And Read

	


		

		
Authored by Ian Ustick


St. Augustine Hall on the Queens campus of St. John's University. 
St. Augustine Hall on the Queens campus of St. John’s University.


Saint Augustine was one of the foremost intellectual thinkers of his time. He lived in the Roman Province of Northern Africa, which today would be modern-day Algeria. In a pluralistic society, not unlike ours, there were competing thoughts, ideologies, and religious faiths. With Christianity now legalized and having become the official state religion of the Roman Empire, Augustine, who had formerly been a pagan, took it upon himself to become the intellectual defender of the church[1].  Continue reading →

			

	
	



			
				



	
	


		
					

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President Taft Laments the Passing of  Father Alexander P. Doyle

	


		

		
Authored by Satasha Williams


Watermarked Telegram from President William H. Taft to Father John J. Burke - August 10, 1912 about the recent passing of Paulist Father Alexander P. Doyle
Telegram from President William H. Taft to Father John J. Burke – August 10, 1912


Introduction


This telegram is addressed to Father John J. Burke from President William Howard Taft concerning the recent death of Father Alexander P. Doyle. Fathers John J. Burke and Alexander P. Doyle were both Paulist Fathers who were actively working to ease the burdens of the poor while adhering to a higher calling . The timeframe for this correspondence was August 10th 1912 one day after the death of Father Alexander P. Doyle. The telegram was sent from the White House in Washington D.C. to New York where the Paulist Fathers have a General Office. Continue reading →