It’s that time of year again, and for many of us it’s not quite the “most wonderful time of the year.”  It can be a time when the accumulated losses of life hit us the hardest. If you’ve been on the Earth for a while, chances are you are missing some very special people who have either passed away or moved away.  At the same time you’re being bombarded with media images of intact, ‘happy-all-the-time’ extended families in beautiful settings with piles of gifts and tables laden with elaborate dishes. Despite the pervasiveness of these glossy images, it’s not the reality for many who may be feeling overworked, under-financed, unwell, stressed out, or sad about missing loved ones. Just because you or your family have always celebrated the holidays in a certain way doesn’t mean you have to keep doing what no longer works. You might want to try something new. It helps to spend time on activities that feed your spirit and increase your focus on experiences instead of things. Maybe you can cancel some time sucking activities that you don’t enjoy in order to free up time for the things you do enjoy! If you have kids, what they really, really want is your time and attention, not more stuff - no matter what they say! You could create some crafts, take a hike, attend a free program or performance at the Library, volunteer your time to a good cause, play a game, do a puzzle, visit an elderly relative or neighbor, check out some Library books, read aloud, or deliver gifts to people who actually do need stuff.

Some Other Ideas:

And…. Enjoy some of our offerings at the Islip Public Library! :

The Library is collecting toys and items for kids and teens through the Family Service League’s PROJECT TOY.  We’re also hosting a family community service event - The Gift of Giving, on the evening of December 20 to create toiletry bags to be delivered to guests at a local soup kitchen.

There’s a special volunteer opportunity for teens on December 15 - the teens will be wrapping gifts that patrons bring in to the Library. It’s free and we supply the paper and ribbons too!

Two special (free of course) performances are happening at the Library in December: For kids and families there’s Once Upon a Snowflake by Plaza Theatrical on Sunday, December 9. For everyone, there’s the Long Island re-Sound Handbell Ensemble performance on Sunday, December 16.

Bring your child to the Library to read aloud to a therapy dog on December 20. Animals have a special non-judgmental way of slowing us down and keeping us grounded.

Don’t miss meeting Mary Poppins herself as she makes a special appearance at the showing of the Mary Poppins movie on Saturday, December 22!

Stop in to see the Polar Express train set that will be gracing a large table in the Children’s Room during the month of December – magical!

As always there are many free programs to attend at the Library including some new drop-in programs for kids.

Take advantage of the Library’s Museum Pass program. Passes are free. Enjoy a fun, educational day. Reserve a pass from our website: www.isliplibrary.org

Stretch your gift budget by visiting the Library’s sale shelves to buy some gently used, very inexpensive books and DVDs.

Take a look at our newsletter for more information about Library programs.​

The Islip Public Library is collecting toys and other items for children and teenagers again this holiday season for the Family Service League’s PROJECT TOY program. You can help to make a family’s holiday brighter by donating new and un(gift)wrapped toys, books, clothing, etc… for a child or teenager. The collection box is located at the Adult Reference Desk. Donated items need to be received in the Library by Thursday, December 13 please. The items will be made available to families in need by The Family Service League at their annual December event.

Check out The Family Service League website at www.fsl-li.org to learn more about all the programs and services that this not-for-profit human services agency provides to families on Long Island.

Also, look for other giving opportunities at the Library later this winter. We’ll be collecting winter coats as well as mittens, hats, and scarves for those in need. See our January-February newsletter for details.

Sometimes it can feel like a cold and difficult world out there, let’s stick together! Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), also referred to in America as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. The campaign also offers information and support to those affected by breast cancer.

“To provide direct services and support to breast cancer patients, as well as patients with other women’s cancers, to present educational programs and outreach within the community, and to encourage scientific and environmental research.”

The Islip Breast Cancer Coalition was founded in 1996 by a group of women committed to helping people in our community diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2015, the group expanded to include all women’s cancers. IBCC is an independent, grassroots, not-for-profit organization serving the residents of the Township of Islip including areas of Bay Shore, Bayport, Bohemia, Brentwood, Brightwaters, Central Islip, East Islip, Fire Island, Great River, Hauppauge, Holbrook, Islip, Islip Terrace, Islandia, Oakdale, Ronkonkoma, Sayville, and West Sayville.

The Coalition has created a Garden of Hope next to Islip Town Hall. Please consider a donation by ordering a Garden Butterfly to be displayed in the Garden in October by calling 631-968-7424.  The butterflies may be placed in honor or in memory of someone you know who has been affected by breast or ovarian cancer.  The cost to place a butterfly is a $10.00 donation to this not-for-profit organization.

For more information about services, or about making a donation, and/or volunteering to help, please visit the website: ​IslipBreastCancer.com  
You can also email the group at: info@islipbreastcancer.com

Demonstrate your love of democracy – VOTE!

The midterm elections are coming in November and every voice needs to be heard. Whatever you believe, whoever you support, it is your right and responsibility as a citizen to vote! The Library has Voter Registration Forms available at the Adult Reference Desk. Stop in and pick up yours if you are not yet registered.

Click on the link below for detailed information about voting in New York State.

A. Time to celebrate our democratic heritage.

​National Voter Registration Day has volunteers out en masse with voter registration activities at school, in the workplace, and in your neighborhoods. For one whole day, volunteers and various organizations collaborate by setting up registration tables, knocking on doors or producing social and mass media awareness campaigns over the importance of registering to vote. National Voter Registration Day makes an all-out effort to register the tens of thousands of Americans who can make a difference at the ballot box.

B. Don't hate—celebrate

National Voter Registration Day discourages political voter rage in favor of voter celebration. Imagine over 10,000 volunteers working together one full day to educate Americans on one of our most precious rights — the right to vote. In 2016, 750,000 voters registered on National Voter Registration Day. With so many world citizens denied this basic right, promoting our core democratic values, voting, should give all Americans something to cheer about on National Voter Registration Day.

C. It educates Americans on voting rights

National Voter Registration Day reminds and educates American on the voter requirements. You must be at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen, and a current resident of your state. When you see a National Voter Registration Day table or volunteer, you can do more than just register. You can confirm your polling place, and update your registration information.

Information above taken from:

To learn more, visit the website https://nationalvoterregistrationday.org/
Or the NYS Board of elections website cited above.

Back when I was a kid almost no one had air conditioning. We lived on Long Island, and as we all know, August on Long Island is soupy and swampy - a sauna. My childhood home wasn’t anywhere near the water where one could find a breeze - our house was smack in the center of the Island. On the rare occasion when you actually felt a breeze, it was newsworthy. There was not a breath of air - no relief from the dogdays of August. Sure, we went to the beach sometimes, but there were days when it was actually too hot even to do that. You could cool off in your backyard pool if you were lucky enough to have one, but sometimes the sun beat down so hard on the water that it provided little relief. Watering the plants with the garden hose and running through the sprinkler worked pretty well, but how long could you do that? We could have visited the public library to get cool, but our library was located in a small storefront with one wholly inadequate window air conditioner. Not much relief there, though I do remember that it offered a water fountain with icy cold water. A trip to an air conditioned store was a very exciting proposition, but you had to endure the car ride there and back. Needless to say, almost no one had a car with air conditioning either – we certainly didn’t. By the time you got back home any cooling effect you may have enjoyed had been completely eliminated - along with your hairstyle - since the car windows were rolled down all the way. (Kids, we used to roll down the windows by hand). Sometimes, if you were on a highway, you thought you would get blown right out the car window.  (There were no seatbelts either, but that’s another blog post for another month.)

As many overwrought and overheated moms did back then, my mother instituted occasional deli nights in the summer. We had salads, cold cuts, and rolls from the deli – a special treat indeed since it was, as my mother would say “rather dear” and necessitated cuts elsewhere in the already strained household budget.

Clearly, the moms of the 60s and 70s were way ahead of their time, because only three years ago, in 2015, Ziggy Gruber (aka the “Deli Man”) designated August as National Deli Month. Check out the article at this link.

Ziggy instituted this month as a way to promote and expand awareness of Jewish delicatessens and deli food, but I can’t help but think that he chose August for the celebration because he remembered sweltering summer days from his childhood too.

Many of us now enjoy air conditioned homes (and cars) so we could in fact continue to cook in August. But it’s National Deli Month, so who needs to?!  Besides, who doesn’t love a nice pastrami on rye with coleslaw and a pickle on the side?!  Enjoy!

(PS – the Islip Public Library has excellent air conditioning – stop in and stay awhile)

Refugee – A refugee is a person who has been forced to flee their home country due to persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. The persecution of a refugee experiences may include harassment, threats, abduction or torture. A refugee is afforded some sort of legal protection, either by their host country’s government, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or both.  In the U.S. refugees are hand-selected by the U.S. government and are screened in advance. They are subject to background checks and security screenings by multiple U.S. agencies. Only after everything is approved are they brought to the U.S. to reside permanently.

Asylum Seeker – An asylum seeker is a person who has fled persecution in their home country and is seeking safe haven in a different country, but has not yet received any legal recognition or status. Every refugee is initially an asylum seeker.

Migrants – A migrant is a person who chooses to move from their home for any variety of reasons, but not necessarily because of a direct threat of persecution or death. Migrant is an umbrella category that can include refugees but can also include people moving to improve their lives by finding work or education, those seeking family reunion and others. Migrants become immigrants when they enter into a new country.

Source:  hias.org

Interested in learning more? For more facts about refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, and immigration please also refer to these resources:

Not-For-Profit websites:

 (.ORG INDICATES A NOT-FOR-PROFIT) 

JUST A FEW OF THE BOOKS AT THE ISLIP PUBLIC LIBRARY:

The line becomes a river: dispatches from the border. Cantú, Francisco

The making of a dream: how a group of young undocumented immigrants helped change what it means to be American. Wides-Muñoz, Laura

Border patrol nation: dispatches from the front lines of homeland security. Miller, Todd

Exceptional people: how migration shaped our world and will define our future. Goldin, Ian

Detained and deported: stories of immigrant families under fire. Regan, Margaret

Exodus: how migration is changing our world. Collier, Paul

A nation of nations: a great American immigration story. Gjelten, Tom

The far away brothers: two young migrants and the making of an American life. Markham, Lauren

Immigration and asylum: from 1900 to the present. ABC-CLIO,

Go back to where you came from: the backlash against immigration and the fate of western democracy. Polakow-Suransky, Sasha

A hope more powerful than the sea: one refugee's incredible story of love, loss, and survival. Fleming, Melissa

The great departure: mass migration from Eastern Europe and the making of the free world. Zahra, Tara

The lines we cross. Abdel-Fattah, Randa

Immigrants' rights, citizens' rights. Howell, Sara

Cast away: true stories of survival from Europe's refugee crisis. McDonald-Gibson

The fence: national security, public safety, and illegal immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border. Maril, Robert Lee

Border crosser: one gringo's illicit passage from Mexico into America. Rico, Johnny

Dying to cross: the worst immigrant tragedy in the history of the United States. Ramos, Jorge

City of dreams: the 400-year epic history of immigrant New York. Anbinder, Tyler

A Nation of Immigrants. Kennedy, John F.

Get the Facts!

Fact Checking Sources:

Have fun and stay safe this summer!