Come on spring!

Unbeknownst to one another, three of our staff members who work at the Service Desk showed up this morning wearing pink shirts.  Do you think they're eager for spring?  I just had to get a shot of them to share with everyone. 



Left to right: Anna Gardner, Bobbie Harris, Ellen Dearborn

After what seems like an endless winter with considerable snow and temperatures in the teens and below, it's so nice not to have to bundle up to come to work.

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“It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want—oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” —  Mark Twain

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Adrienne Birchler
Coordinator
Friends of the Folsom Library


Lunch & Learn for March

Lunch & Learn

Co-sponsored by Friends of the Folsom Library

and

Rensselaer Retirees Forum

 

 

"My Bibliomania:  30 Years of Art and Source Material" 

                                     Presenter:  Michael Oatman

 

For the past 25 years, artist and School of Architecture faculty member Michael Oatman has been using archives and libraries as conceptual and physical material for his installations, videos, and collages.  During this Lunch & Learn lecture, he will present both the archival sources and the resulting imagery from three different projects:  "Long Shadows"  (1995/2001), "Conservatory" (2005), and "All Utopias Fell" (2010).

"The Shining," one part of three interrelated parts of Oatman's seasonal
(May through November) "All Utopias Fell" at MASS MoCA

 

Friday, March 13

12:00 noon to 1:00 pm

Folsom Library Fischbach Room

Free!

Everyone is welcome!

Bring your lunch or purchase one at the Library Café.

Dessert will be provided.

 

 

Adrienne Birchler

Coordinator

Friends of the Folsom Library

Lunch & Learn for February 6, 2015

Adrienne Birchler

Coordinator

Friends of the Folsom Library

Lunch & Learn for December

Lunch & Learn

Co-sponsored by Friends of the Folsom Library

and the Rensselaer Retirees Forum

 

“Where Family and Friends Gathered in Song:  
The History of the Fox Hollow Folk Festival”

 

Presenter:  Kathryn Sheehan

From 1966 to 1980, thousands gathered in the hills of Petersburgh, New York and joined Bob, Evelyn, and Martha Beers for four days of traditional folk music.  Fox Hollow became one of the most popular folk music festivals in the country and launched the careers of performers Don McLean, Gordon Bok, Bruce "Utah" Phillips, Dan Smith and many more.  Rensselaer County and Troy City Historian Kathryn Sheehan will explore the history and traditions of this legendary music festival. 

 

                    Friday, December 19  ~  12:00 noon to 1:00 pm 

Folsom Library Fischbach Room

Free! Everyone is welcome!  

Bring your lunch or purchase one at the Library Cafe. 

Dessert will be provided.

 

 

Adrienne Birchler

Coordinator

Friends of the Folsom Library

 

 

Link to the

Carl A. Westerdahl Forum

Evening Presentation

  

Matt Peteritis, a club member of RPI TV, generously donated his time to videotape the evening program of "Making the Connection:  Rensselaer Graduates Who Built Bridges over the Hudson" in October. Frank Griggs '56 and George Christian M.S. '76 talked about the role Rensselaer alumni had in the design and construction of bridges in the Hudson Valley and nationwide in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Unfortunately, the PowerPoint presentation wasn't included in the recording, so you won't get to see the slides the speakers refer to. Here's the link:  

http://www.rpitv.org/productions/832-carl-westerdahl-forum




Left to right:  George Christian M.S. '76; Chris Letchford, Professor and Department Head,

Civil and Environmental Engineering, RPI; Frank Griggs '56

Adrienne Birchler
Coordinator
Friends of the Folsom Library

Lunch & Learn for November

Book Review:  “Capital in the 21st Century by Thomas Piketty”

              Presenter:  Dr. Paul Hohenberg

 

Retired RPI economics professor Paul Hohenberg will discuss the book that "harks back to Marx's Das Kapital not only in title, subject, and concern with income inequality, but also in being a large book that many speak of and few actually read."

 

Our speaker suggests to anyone who is not up for reading the 700-page book that he or she get the TED talk by the author.  It is on YouTube and gives a good overview in 15 minutes.  French accent is free.

 

                                          Friday, November 14 

12:00 noon to 1:00 pm 

 Folsom Library Fischbach Room

Free! Everyone is welcome! 

Bring your lunch or purchase one at the Library Cafe.  

 Dessert will be provided.

 

 

Adrienne Birchler
Coordinator
Friends of the Folsom Library

 

The Carl A. Westerdahl Forum Inaugural Event

By now all Friends should have received an invitation to "Making the Connection:  Rensselaer Graduates Who Built Bridges over the Hudson" that the Friends is sponsoring next month.  The committee planning the event, headed by Friends Board of Directors members Rick Hartt and Meg Gallien, have put a lot of effort into this and are excited to offer not one but two presentations to all who are interested in learning about civil engineering training at the Institute in the late 1800s and the role Rensselaer alumni had in the design and construction of bridges in the Hudson Valley and nationwide in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
 
We are very fortunate to have Frank Griggs '56, engineer, bridge restorer, and historian, as our featured speaker.  He'll be joined by Chris Letchford, head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at RPI, and George Christian, M.S. '76, who has over 38 years of engineering and management experience in varied bridge planning, design, construction, and evaluation activities in the New York State Department of Transportation Office of Structures.
 
The Carl A. Westerdahl Forum memorializes the creative contributions made by Carl A. Westerdahl (1937-2013), former dean, director, and historian at Rensselaer, through programs that explore education, history, art, architecture, engineering, and science as they relate to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

The online invitation with information, including directions to RPI and parking instructions, and a registration form that can be sent in can be obtained at http://www.lib.rpi.edu/documents/friends/Carl.pdf /

Online registration is now available!
 
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me at bircha@rpi.edu or (518) 452-0618.

I hope to see many of you at the event.  It promises to be an excellent introduction to the annual lecture series honoring Carl who was committed to the Institute and took great pleasure in sharing its history, contributions, and success stories with others.

Adrienne Birchler
Coordinator
Friends of the Folsom Library