Blood Drive at Brentwood Public Library

Donate blood and receive a Brentwood Public Library tote bag!
August 9, 2011 1:45PM - 9:00PM

Summer of the Green OUTDOOR CONCERTS

Phil Costa's - Something Specail Big Band
Friday, August 5, 2011 7:00PM-8:30PM
Something special, with its Count Basie style, is considered to
be one of the finest swing/jazz bands in the metropolitan area.
The band has been featured at many of the major music and
jazz festivals throughout New York. The performance will
include the music of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Harry James,
Artie Shaw, and other greats. Please bring a chair or blanket.
This concert is made possible through the support of the Islip
Arts council.

Emma Lazaeus: Voice of Liberty, Voice of Conscience

Special Exhibition: Friday, July 8 - August 19, 2011. Emma Lazarus wrote the immortal words that grace a bronze plaque in the Statue of Liberty Museum. Her poem, "The New Colossus," speaks to all immigrants who seek a new life in America. Learn about this courageous woman, a poet, critic, advocate for the poor, early feminist, and champion of immigrants and refugees, by visiting the Brentwood Public Library for a guided tour of this special exhibition during regular library hours from Friday, July 8 through August 19, 2011.

The Voice of Conscience Unveiling Ceremony will be Friday, July 8, 2:00-5:00PM.

A Very Senior Prom featuring The Moonlight Serenaders Swing Band

MUSIC THROUGH THE YEARS A VERY SENIOR PROM featuring THE MOONLIGHT SERENADERS SWING BAND – Friday, June 10, 2011 7:00PM-8:30PM in the Brentwood Public Library Auditorium.  

The library would like you to recreate that magical evening from our teen years with a prom for our seniors. Bring your spouse, friends, or come stag. There will be music from the Moonlight Sereenaders Swing Band for dancing. The four musicians and vocalist will perform songs from the ‘30’s, ‘40’s, and ‘50’s. Enjoy a wonderful evening of music and dancing!

Emma Lazarus

Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887) was an American Jewish poet born in New York City. She is best known for "The New Colossus", a sonnet written in 1883; its lines appear on a bronze plaque in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in 1912. The sonnet was solicited by William Maxwell Evarts as a donation to an auction, conducted by the "Art Loan Fund Exhibition in Aid of the Bartholdi Pedestal Fund for the Statue of Liberty" to raise funds to build the pedestal.
She was honored by the Office of the Manhattan Borough President in March of 2008 and was included in a map of historical sites related or dedicated to important women.

Literary career
Her most famous work is "The New Colossus", which is inscribed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Emma Lazarus, 1883

 Click on link below to follow literary works:

• "Epistle" of Joshua Ibn Vives of Allorqui, An
• 1492
• Acceptance (from Epochs)

·   Youth And Death
http://www.readbookonline.net/books/Lazarus/159/

Composting for your garden!

Compost - is plant matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment. Compost is a key ingredient in organic farming. At its most essential, the process of composting requires simply piling up waste outdoors and waiting a year or more. Modern, methodical composting is a multi-step, closely monitored process with measured inputs of water, air and carbon- and nitrogen-rich materials. The decomposition process is aided by shredding the plant matter, adding water and ensuring proper aeration by regularly turning the mixture. Worms and fungi further break up the material. Aerobic bacteria manage the chemical process by converting the inputs into heat, carbon dioxide and ammonium. The ammonium is further converted by bacteria into plant-nourishing nitrites and nitrates through the process of nitrification.
         Compost can be rich in nutrients. It is used in gardens, landscaping, horticulture, and agriculture. The compost itself is beneficial for the land in many ways, including as a soil conditioner, a fertilizer, addition of vital humus or humic acids, and as a natural pesticide for soil. In ecosystems, compost is useful for erosion control, land and stream reclamation, wetland construction, and as landfill cover.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compost

Some useful links to get you started in building your own compost pile bin:http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/pc/services/home/environ/waste/recycle/compost/compostbins.htm
http://www.edf.org/article.cfm?ContentID=2030
http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/publications/Organics/44295054.pdf

Books to check out at the Brentwood Public Library for composting:
Composting-an easy household guide:  BW-AD Non-Fiction 631.875 SCOTT
Backyard composting:                            BW-AD Non-Fiction 631.875 BAC
Let it rot:                                                 BW-AD Non-Fiction 631.975 CAMPBEL
Secrets to great soil:                               BW-AD Non-Fiction 635.0489 STELL

Some useful links on what to add to you newly created compost bin:http://www.plantea.com/compost-materials.htm http://www.howtocompost.org/
http://www.composting101.com/
http://www.wikihow.com/Compost
http://www.gardenguides.com/2143-guide-composting.html

For additional resources for your composting project please visit the Brentwood Public Library and browse our garden section.  Below are call numbers where books are located.

The nonstop garden:                    BW-AD Non-Fiction 712.6 COHEN
Understanding garden design:     BW-AD Non-Fiction 712.2 NAGEL
Nature's garden:                           BW-AD Non-Fiction 641.303 THAYER
The garden organic guide:           BW-AD Non-Fiction 631.875 PEARS OS
The family kitchen garden:          BW-AD Non-Fiction 635 LIEBREI
The wild garden:                          BW-AD Non-Fiction 635.9676 ROBINSO
The new low maint garden:         BW-AD Non-Fiction 635 EASTON

Victory Garden

Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply brought on by the war effort. In addition to indirectly aiding the war effort these gardens were also considered a civil "morale booster" — in that gardeners could feel empowered by their contribution of labor and rewarded by the produce grown. This made victory gardens become a part of daily life on the home front.

Victory gardens were planted in backyards and on apartment-building rooftops, with the occasional vacant lot "commandeered for the war effort!" and put to use as a cornfield or a squash patch. During World War II, sections of lawn were publicly plowed for plots in Hyde Park, London to publicize the movement. In New York City, the lawns around vacant "Riverside" were devoted to victory gardens, as were portions of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_garden

One of the most popular garden vegetable's to grow is tomatoes. There are lots of different varieties of tomatoes to select from. Some of the most popular are sweet Grape tomatoes, better boy, beefmaster or beefsteak, yellow, red fluted, small striped, black, brandywine pink, san marzano, wild everglades, and triangle.

Fruits and Vegetables to consider for planting are arugula, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, figs, garlic, grapes, okra, Onion, peppers, and romaine lettuce.

To have a fully rounded garden you should include herbs. Some of the most common herbs are basil, chamomile, cilantro, Cuban oregano, lemon balm, lobelia, marjoram, parsley, rosemary, and thyme.

Now that you have worked hard in designing and planting your Victory Garden you have to protect the vegetables from the little critters with empty stomachs. You have to build a perimeter barrier with predator attracting plants to lessen damage to actual garden crop. Some plants to consider are borage, cosmos, marigolds, morning glory, nasturtium, petunias, and zinnia.

To get started on your victory garden come to the Brentwood Public Library and visit our garden section to get started.

Some titles to get you started:

The Victory Garden Companion:                    BW-AD Non-Fiction 635 WEISHAN
The Victory Garden Alphabet Book:             BW-J Non-Fiction J635 PAL 
Success with Small Space Gardening:          BW-NEW 635.967 CLARKE
Community Gardening:                                     BW-AD Non-Fiction 635.0917 COMMUNITY
Basic Gardening Skills:                                       BW-AD Non-Fiction 635 Hunter
Gardening with Good Bugs:                             BW-AD Non-Fiction 595.7163 HODGSON
Vegetable Gardening:                                        BW-AD Non-Fiction 635 Bradley