As far as I know, no one from APL has yet taken this course of action

You'll find a lot of end-of-the-year material out there; from the weird file, here's one from About.com: Heidi Dalibor, 22, of Grafton, Wis., was handcuffed and arrested for failing to pay fines on overdue library books.

More people using library free services (part 37)

Yet another verification of what we instinctively knew. This one features Brad Turner, Steuben County (NY) Library PR Coordinator and former Albany resident.

New York State: Libraries brace for proposed state cuts

With New York state looking to cuts costs wherever it can, many state agencies and organizations are scrambling to make-up the difference. Libraries are part of that cut.

Libraries face an 18 percent cut in next year’s budget which is $18 million. Next year’s proposed cut is on top of the three percent cut libraries dealt with this year. The drop brings state aid to levels not seen since 1993.

Online v. print reading: which one makes us smarter?

It’s no mystery that publications have been taking a beating as more and more people read their news on the Net. But there’s a catch. The online info may be instant and abundant — and in many cases free — but it may come at a cost, says a new study published in the Journal of Research in Reading.

2008: A BANNER YEAR FOR LIBRARIES & LIBRARY PROGRAMS

From Jeffrey Cannell, Deputy Commissioner for Cultural Education and Interim State Librarian

Through cooperation and collaboration, the New York State Library and our library and system partners across the state have accomplished a great deal in 2008. Facing a tighter budget the library community has
done a lot with less. We have again met or exceeded many of our goals for the year.

It has been a year of remarkable numbers and accomplishments. For example:

● “Catch the Reading Bug,” the 2008 Statewide Summer Reading Program, attracted over 1.5 million young participants, a 15-percent increase over summer 2007. We met the participation goal for 2010 two years early.

● 325 New York libraries received total E-rate discounts of over $8.2 million.

● The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Online Opportunities Hardware Grant provided some 1,073 funded computers installed in 419 public library building in high need communities. And the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has selected New York State as one of seven pilot states for their new Online Broadband Connectivity Initiative.

● Public libraries and systems will receive $14 million in grants for 181 public library construction projects for 2008–2009.

● The Board of Regents approved 55 library charters. Four new public library districts were formed and 318,588 formerly unserved New Yorkers now have a local public library.

● NOVELNY pilot project annual searches totaled 29.6 million, and usage continues to grow; over 5,500 libraries are registered for NOVELNY.

● The Board of Regents formally adopted an amendment toCommissioner’s Regulation 90.7 Certificates for Librarians. As of January 1, 2010 new public librarian professional certificate holders will be required to complete 60 hours of professional development every five year period.

● The Division of Library Development completed over 85 site visits and oversaw a total of 997 grants to libraries and library systems and sponsored 88 education events for 2485 people.

● The State Research Library held 34 classes; 11 of them provided hands-on training and 15 were customized training classes for community groups and state agencies.

● The State Research Library responded to nearly 21,000 interlibrary loan requests, with 155,000 pages sent electronically

● The State Research Library’s digitization project has scanned 84,667 pages of New York State documents as well as other non-copyrighted materials, and provides links to the digitized information through its online catalog.

● The State Library’s Talking Book and Braille Library served 37,000 registered users with visual or reading disabilities; and TBBL is working on converting to new digital players.

● The Research Library provided information to inmates in New York's correctional facilities; nearly 19,000 requests were complete.

● Bernard A. Margolis was appointed New York State Librarian and Assistant Commissioner for Libraries after a rigorous national search. He will officially start his position on January 8, 2009.

I am proud of New York’s library community and the collaborative spirit that you all demonstrate as we continue to develop innovative ways to serve New Yorkers. In the final days of 2008, please accept my
thanks for your efforts.

Best wishes for a happy holiday season and continuing successes in 2009.

FBI Compiles List of Most-Coveted Library Books

From American Libraries/ALA:

"Some seven months after charging James Brubaker in the theft of hundreds of books from at least 100 academic and public libraries in the United States and Canada, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has entrusted the Western Washington University librarian who helped crack the case with a list of some 800 titles recovered in the case —600 of which were identifiable as having been taken from specific libraries. 'Since any book on the list is apparently a candidate for theft, we are checking it against our own collection,' librarian Rob Lopresti e-mailed American Libraries. 'Each of the books we own is being considered for possible protection by movement to a different location.'

"Lopresti explained that he is loathe to post the list online for libraries’ convenience in checking their own holdings since that could transform it into 'a shopping list' for potential thieves. However, he wrote, WWU would send a paper copy of the list by U.S. mail to any library that requests it on library stationary and enclosing a self-addressed, stamped envelope with 59 cents postage."

Gates Foundation Announces Pilot Grant Program to Improve Internet Connections in Public Libraries

"The foundation has awarded $6,959,771 in combined grant funding to Connected Nation, a non-profit broadband Internet advocacy group, and the American Library Association’s Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) to support improved Internet connections for public libraries in Arkansas, California, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, and Virginia." Read the press release here.

Minnesota: Library usage increases with the recession

An unsurprising story from Minnesota Public Radio: "There’s one place where business is booming right now despite the recession. It’s your local public library."

Holiday Weekend Movies at the Library

Saturday & Sunday December 27 & 28 2PM Come to the library main branch for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

FL Legislator: Dewey Decimal System “anachronistic”

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/dec/19/na-libraries-offer-plenty-for-storms-to-stew-over/news-breaking/ Libraries Offer Plenty For Storms To Stew Over

Another librarian diss:

The Dewey Decimal System.

[State Sen. Ronda] Storms, R-Valrico, railed against the book-cataloging system during a budget hearing on state library aid, calling the Dewey Decimal System "anachronistic," costly and just plain frustrating.

The system requires training for both staff and users, she complained. If Barnes & Noble organizes its books more simply, why can’t libraries?

"A lot of little old librarians are going to have a heart attack that I even said that out loud," Storms said during Wednesday’s hearing. “But it really is ridiculous.”

Secretary of State Kurt Browning, who oversees state support of libraries, told the committee that Dewey Decimal is the national standard, set by the Library of Congress.

"The Library of Congress can do what the Library of Congress wants," Storms said. "If it’s costing us money … it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee."

Best Careers 2009: Librarian

From the December 11, 2008 U.S. News and World Report:

Forget about that image of librarians as a mousy bookworms. More and more of today's librarians must be clever interrogators, helping the patron to reframe their question more usefully. Librarians then become high-tech information sleuths, helping patrons plumb the oceans of information available in books and digital records, often starting with a clever Google search but frequently going well beyond.
Related News

Librarianship is an underrated career. Most librarians love helping patrons solve their problems and, in the process, learning new things.

SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON PAPERS REVISED EDITION CD

Twenty volumes of papers and correspondence of Sir William Johnson have been released in a revised second edition digital CD format by the New York State Library. The papers are part of the collections of the New York State Library.

Johnson was British Superintendent of Indian Affairs in New York from 1755 through 1774. He is best remembered for his diplomatic achievements among the various Native American tribes and as a military leader during the French and Indian War. This set of primary documents dating from 1738 to 1808 provides a fascinating glimpse into the pre-Revolutionary interactions among the British, French, and Iroquois empires.

The Sir William Johnson Papers were originally published in 14 volumes of print, including a general index, from 1921 to 1965. Valuable for colonial research, the earliest six volumes have been out-of-print for years. The newly released CD is a revised and expanded second edition of an earlier CD released in 2007. It includes the complete 14 volume set along with the "Calendar of the Sir William Johnson manuscripts in the New York State Library" compiled by Richard E. Day in 1909. The
CD also features several enhancements, including: more than 100 newly digitized illustrations from the New York State Library collections; dozens of new color digital photographs of locations and scenes from the Mohawk Valley and Lake George appropriate to Johnson's legacy, including Johnson Hall and Fort Johnson; improved accuracy of scans to nearly 98%; electronic indexing allowing simultaneous searching of the entire collection; and bibliographic consistency in volume and page
numbering with printed volumes.

The CD is available from the New York State Library for $20. To purchase a copy, contact Aimee Pelton in Documents and Digital Collections via phone at (518) 474-7492 or email at apelton@mail.nysed.gov

Remember That Your Library Will Be Closed

Wednesday, December 24, 2008 - Christmas Eve
Thursday, December 25, 2008 - Christmas Day
Thursday, January 1, 2009 - New Years Day

Board of Regents Adopts Amendments to Regulations for Librarians

Board of Regents Adopts Amendments to Commissioner’s Regulation 90.7 - Certificates for Librarians in Registered Public, Free Association, and Indian Libraries

Deputy Commissioner for Cultural Education and Interim State Librarian Jeffrey Cannell announced today that the New York State Board of Regents formally adopted proposed amendments to Commissioner’s Regulation 90.7 Certificates for Librarians in Registered Public, Free Association and Indian Libraries the their December meeting. The amended regulations will take effect January 8, 2009.

The State Library will be working in partnership with the New York Library Association and others to implement the amended regulations and to provide online tools and assistance for individuals and employers prior to the January 1, 2010 start date.

The changes to CR 90.7 will affect those individuals who are issued a public librarian professional certificate by the State Education Department beginning on January 1, 2010 and thereafter. Current certificate holders and those issued certificates prior to January 1, 2010 will not be affected.

As of January 1, 2010 new public librarian professional certificate holders will be required to complete 60 hours of professional development every five year period. In order to maintain active certification as a public librarian, individual certificate holders should be able to clearly document completion of the required professional development activities to their employer and if requested, to the State Education Department.

Individuals working in professional librarian positions in public, free association or Indian libraries or in public library systems in New York State are required to possess a public librarian certificate issued by the New York State Education Department. This certification requirement applies regardless of whether the position is fulltime or part-time and has been in effect since 1909.

To see the text of the amended regulations, please visit the State Library website at www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/cert.

For further information on the New York State public librarian certification program, including how to apply for a certificate, please visit the State Library website or contact Maria Hazapis, Education Program Assistant, New York State Library, Division of Library Development at mhazapis@mail.nysed.gov or (518) 486-1330.

Library Aid down

The 2009-10 Executive Budget proposes a $18 million or 18% cut in Library Aid. This would bring Library Aid down to 1993 levels and is on top of two cuts (3%) in 2008 which reduced Library Aid from $102 million to $98.5 million. (This basically a repackaing of the same cut proposed on November 18th by the Division of Budget, that the Library Rally and other advocacy efforts help prevent.)

Library Materials Aid for School Libraries remains steady at $6.25 per pupil.

School Aid was reduced by $698 million, but BOCES Aid was increased by $33 million. See link for complete list of changes.
Public Library Construction Aid - $800,000 line item was eliminated, but the $14 million in borrowed funding for library construction remains intact. NYLA is working with Division of Library Development and the American Library Association to insure that a federal stimulus package for public works projects includes funds for libraries.

Adult Literacy Education (ALE) funds remains level a $4.9 million (libraries are elgible to apply for these funds)

SUNY/CUNY tuition increases of 14% and 15% respectively were proposed. $338 million in cuts overall proposed - see here for detailed info.

BUNDY Aid (for private colleges) was cut by $2 million.

The Executive Budget also includes two changes with potential benefits for libraries that NYLA advocated for:

Computer Software Aid - language was revised to allow the purchase of materials in electronic format which are access or delivered through the internet.

Local Government Efficiency Grants - language was amended to allow all types of public libraries to apply for these shared services grants including association, school library district and special legislative district libraries.

NYLA will be updating its Talking Points and 2009 Budget Priorities over the next week for use by library advocates in their meetings with legislators. An updated History of Library Aid, Library Circulation and Visitation Charts are already up on its website.

In addition, NYLA is looking for examples of how libraries have helped people find jobs, create new businesses, etc. Also they need to know if your library has a business or employment center (physical space dedicated for such use) or job assistance program, etc.

The Governor's Budget

Governor Paterson delivered a balanced Executive Budget this week, more than one month prior to the State constitutional deadline, which would eliminate the largest budget deficit in State history - a $1.7 billion current-year shortfall and a $13.7 billion 2009-10 deficit.

To view the entire document please visit here.

Social Security Benefits Workshop

Sign up today for the December 16th SSA Benefits Workshop.

Are you, or someone you know, planning for retirement, learn everything you can about what you can do online @SSA.gov.

Don't miss this opportunity to have your Social Security Questions answered.

For more information and to register, call the reference desk at 427-4303.

Strock Hangs with The Friends!

Carl Strock, of the Schenectady Gazette, will be joining Friends of Albany Public Library on Tuesday, December 16th to review the book, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux.

Read your copy today and share your insights with Strock on Tuesday.

Large Auditorium, 161 Washington Avenue, 12:15 p.m.

Sorry, No Reservations will be accepted.

The Librarian Cocktail Mocktail

Or as the APL's Elissa Kane, who found the recipe on a national library listserv, perhaps it should be mockTALE.

THE LIBRARIAN

- open a Vintage Wild Cherry Seltzer liter and put finger to lips as it makes a SHHHHH sound

- add 4 oz. of the seltzer to a hi-ball glass over ice

- add 1 oz. pineapple juice

- add a splash of lime and stir

- garnish with lime wedge

- enjoy with your favorite book!

The importance of libraries in hard economic times

In case you missed it on NBC, here is a link to a great recent news store on the importance of libraries in hard economic times. The story is reported by Chris Jansing, nee Chris Kapostasy, who was the co-anchor on WNYT-TV, Channel 13 in Albany for over a decade.

Emergency Regents amendment on collections management

FROM: David Palmquist, Head, Museum Chartering
SUBJ: Emergency Regents amendment on collections management

Dear Colleague:

The Board of Regents will consider an emergency amendment to Regents Rule §3.27 on collections management policies at its December meeting.
The Cultural Education Committee will meet to discuss and act on the proposed regulation on Monday, December 15, from 2:45 to 4:15 PM, in Room 146, Education Building, Albany. The meeting is open to the public but there is no provision for public comments.

If approved in December, the emergency rule would become effective on
December 19, 2008, and would remain in effect for 90 days. We
anticipate presenting the amendment for adoption as a permanent rule at the March 2009 Regents meeting.

I invite your comments and am prepared to answer your questions.

The full text of the proposed amendment and attachments is on the Regents web page at www.regents.nysed.gov

Click on "Materials for the December 2008 Meeting of the Board of Regents" then "Cultural Education" and then "Emergency Amendment of Regents Rule 3.27 Relating to Museum Collections Management Policies" and select either HTML or Word format.
***
TO:Cultural Education Committee
FROM: Jeffrey W. Cannell

Issue for Discussion

Should the Regents adopt an emergency amendment of §3.27 of the Rules of the Board of Regents, relating to museum collections management policies?

Reason for Consideration

Implementation of Regents policy.

Proposed Handling

The proposed amendment is before the Cultural Education Committee for discussion and recommendation to the Full Board for emergency action in December.

Procedural History

The proposed amendment has been recommended by the State Education Department and State Museum management to protect collections held by museums and historical societies in financial difficulty.

Background Information

Regents Rule §3.27 provides standards for chartered museums and historical societies. Sections 3.27 and 3.30 were first promulgated effective March 1971, and the Regents added a collections management policy requirement effective July 1998. The March 2006 amendment greatly expanded the standards by providing increased oversight for collections and resources held in the public trust.

In the current financial downturn, museums face deficits that threaten to cancel programs, cut hours and close doors. A large deficit could threaten a museum’s existence and send the trustees to court for bankruptcy protection or other disposition, which could result in a court-directed sale of all or part of a museum's collection to satisfy the museum's outstanding debt.

We believe current Regents Rules on collections are inflexible if a museum faced a sudden, unexpected and critical financial reversal. We don’t want a major museum to close, and don’t want to lose collections held in the public trust to debt.

The emergency provisions would apply to chartered museums and historical societies authorized to own and hold collections under Rule §3.27, and would:

●Enumerate the specific criteria under which an institution may deaccession an item or material in its collection.

●Allow the Regents to grant an exception to allow deaccession of an item or material deemed part of the museum’s collection, by sale or transfer to another museum or historical society in New York, and allow proceeds from deaccessioning to be used to pay outstanding debt, provided the institution demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Regents that the sale or transfer is necessary to pay outstanding debt that would otherwise threaten the ability of the institution to continue to operate and carry out its mission.

●Remove the option allowing an institution to designate a structure as a collections item; but keep intact any such designation made by vote of a board of trustees prior to November 15, 2008.

●Specify that no proceeds from deaccessioning may be used for capital expenses, except to preserve, protect or care for an historic building previously designated as part of the institution’s collection, as above.

We will ask constituents to comment on the proposed amendment through a mailing with cover memo, announcements on web sites, and copies sent to listservs and electronic mailing lists.

The proposed amendment is being presented for adoption as an emergency action. A Statement of Facts and Circumstances Which Necessitate Emergency Action is attached.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Board of Regents take the following
action:

VOTED: That paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) and paragraphs (6) and (7) of subdivision (c) of section 3.27 of the Rules of the Board of Regents be amended, as submitted, effective December 19, 2008, as an emergency action upon a finding by the Board of Regents that such action is necessary for the preservation of the general welfare in order to protect the public’s interest in collections held by a museum or historical society in financial distress by immediately establishing procedures to permit the institution, with the approval of the Board of Regents, to sell or transfer items or material in its collections to another museum or historical society for purposes of obtaining funds to pay outstanding debt, and thereby provide an alternative to the institution's bankruptcy or dissolution, and the possible loss or liquidation of a collection because of debt.

Timetable for Implementation

If approved in December, the emergency rule would become effective on
December 19, 2008 and would remain in effect for 90 days. It is
anticipated that the proposed amendment would be presented for adoption as a permanent rule at the March 2009 Regents meeting.

Everybody Talks About the weather

Wunderground : Find the Weather for any City, State or ZIP Code, or Airport Code or Country - The MOST detailed weather report ever. Historical also. 1996 - today.

American Community Survey

On December 9, 2008, the Census Bureau will release the first set of three-year American Community Survey data for all geographies with populations greater than 20,000. The release will provide the first look at detailed socioeconomic and housing characteristics for geographies between 20,000 and 64,999 since Census 2000. The type of data released and geographies covered can be found here.

Different from a point-in-time estimate

Before I talk about multiyear estimates, it’s important to understand the concept of a period estimate because all ACS estimates are period estimates.

The ACS produces period estimates of socioeconomic and housing characteristics. It is designed to provide estimates that describe the average characteristics of an area over a specific time period. In the case of ACS one-year estimates, the period is the calendar year. For example, the 2007 ACS data describe the population and housing characteristics of an area from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007, not for any specific day within the year.

A period estimate is different from a point-in-time estimate. A point-in-time estimate is designed to measure characteristics as of a certain date or narrow time period. For example, the purpose of the decennial census is to count the population living in the United States on a specific date, which is traditionally April 1. Although decennial census data are actually collected over several months, they are designed to provide a snapshot of the U.S. population as of April 1.

Understanding Multiyear Estimates in the American Community Survey

Period for ACS multiyear estimates is either 3 or 5 calendar years. A multiyear estimate is simply a period estimate that encompasses more than one calendar year. In the case of ACS multiyear estimates, the period is either three or five calendar years.

While a one-year estimate includes information collected from independent monthly samples over a 12-month period, a three-year estimate represents data collected from independent samples over a 36-month period, and a five-year estimate includes data collected over a 60-month period. For example, the 2005-2007 ACS three-year estimates describe the population and housing characteristics of an area for the period January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2007, not for any specific day, month, or year within that time period.

The types of ACS estimates published for a particular area or population group are based on established population thresholds. Geographic areas with at least 65,000 people will receive one-, three-, and five-year ACS estimates. Areas with 20,000 or more people will receive three- and five-year estimates. There are a few exceptions to this rule, however. ZIP code tabulation areas, census tracts, and block groups, regardless of their population size, will only receive five-year estimates. Areas with less than 20,000 people, down to the block group level, will only receive five-year estimates.

ACS estimates based on data collected from 2005-2007 should not be labeled "2006" or "2007" estimates. Multiyear estimates do not represent any one year or the midpoint of a period. The correct labeling for multiyear estimate: "The child poverty rate for the 2005-2007 period was X percent."

Perhaps it is obvious, but multiyear estimates must be used when no one-year estimate is available. Unless a geographic area has a population larger than 65,000, that geography will be reliant on multiyear estimates.

Multiyear estimates should also be used when analyzing data for small population groups due to the higher margins of error associated with them. An example of a small population group could be "Families with Female Householder with own Children under 18". The choices posed for using mulityear estimates is more than simply a choice between using the one-year or the multiyear estimates, however, because for many areas there will also be the choice of which multiyear estimate to use, three- or five-year.

For small areas, only five-year estimates are released, but for larger areas, each annual release will provide one-, three-, and five-year estimates. For example, in 2010, there will be three sets of commuting data for San Diego County – one-year estimates for 2009, three-year estimates reflecting 2007-2009, and five-year estimates for the period of 2005-2009. Users need to decide which is the most appropriate for their needs.

In making this choice, one need to consider the tradeoff between currency and reliability. The one-year estimates for an area reflect the most current data but they tend to have higher margins of error than the three- and five-year estimates because they are based on a smaller sample.

The three-year and five-year estimates for an area have larger samples and smaller margins of error than the one-year estimates, but they are less current because the larger samples include data that were collected in earlier years. The main advantage of using multiyear estimates is the increased statistical reliability for smaller geographic areas and small population groups.

There are no hard-and-fast rules on choosing between one-, three-, and five-year data, but the margins of error provided with ACS data can help data users decide on the tradeoff between currency and reliability.

Only compare the same type of estimate:
1-year estimates to other 1-year estimates
3-year estimates to other 3-year estimates
5-year estimates to other 5-year estimates

When comparing estimates from two multiyear periods, it is easier to make comparisons between non-overlapping periods. This is because the difference between two estimates of overlapping periods is driven by the non-overlapping years. To illustrate what I mean, consider the 2005-2007 period and the 2007-2009 period estimates. Both contain the year 2007. Thus, the difference between the 2005-2007 and 2007-2009 estimates is determined by the difference between the 2005 and 2006 estimates versus the 2008 and 2009 estimates.

In this example, the simplest comparison is between the 2005-2007 estimate and the 2008-2010 estimate, which do not include any overlapping years.

There are global differences that exist between the ACS and Census 2000. These include differences in residence rules, universes, and reference periods. For example, the ACS uses a "two-month" residence rule - defined as anyone living for more than two months in the sample unit when the unit is interviewed. On the other hand, Census 2000 used a "usual residence" rule - defined as the place where a person lives or stays most of the time.

The reference periods between the ACS and Census 2000 also differ. For example, the ACS asks respondents to report their income for the 12 months preceding the interview date while Census 2000 asked for a respondent’s income in calendar year 1999.

Also, as discussed earlier, the ACS produces period estimates whereas Census 2000 data are interpreted to be a snapshot of April 1, 2000.

The Census Bureau subject matter specialists have considered all of these differences and have determined that for most population and housing subjects, comparisons can be made. Further information about comparing measures from the ACS and Census 2000 can be found here.

There are other subtlies of ACS data which I'll not touch on, such as controlling to county population estimates.

The ACS Web Site is offering handbooks providing "user-friendly information about the ACS and the new multiyear estimates... Each handbook targets a specific user group including first time ACS data users."

The ACS Compass Presentations, from which this post was partially purloined, can be found here.

Data Analysis and User Education Branch: 301.763.3655

Albany WinterFestival

This FREE event throughout downtown on December 27th includes a myriad of outdoor and indoor activities focusing on a family audience. Unique and interactive attractions, as well as a spectacular assortment of acclaimed musical performances, will fill the public spaces throughout downtown as Albany celebrates a winter afternoon in the northeast. The Kid's Jingle Jog kicks off the event and fabulous fireworks will round out the day. Click here for more.

More Downtown Albany events can be found here.

The Presidential Signing Statements Controversy and Its Implications for Library Professionals

Schoolhouse Rock Is No Longer Enough (PDF).

Presidential signing statements, a potent but previously little-discussed lawmaking device, have recently become the focus of fierce controversy both inside and outside the academy. The author presents an overview of the debates, identifies informational gaps that characterize the subject area, and reviews practical and policy implications for library professionals.

Bargains For The Holidays May Be Just Clicks Away

Want to get in on the savings? Here are some Web sites that can help you find coupons, discount codes, free shipping and the lowest price out there, even if you prefer to pound the pavement to find the perfect gift.

Tree Lighting & Fireworks Festival

Join the holiday festivities at the Empire State Plaza on December 7 from 2 pm-6 pm with the Holiday marketplace, children's arts & crafts and the lighting of the New York State Holiday Tree, followed by fireworks. Click here for details.

AIDS quilt

Event: NYS Department of Health AIDS Memorial Quilt Display
Description: Open to the Public

Location: Empire State Plaza Convention Hall (the Egg, Albany)
Date/Time
Monday, December 01, 2008 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, December 04, 2008 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Friday, December 05, 2008 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.