The Great Give Back is an annual community initiative created by Long Island libraries to create and promote service-oriented experiences. This year, we held a Halloween Costume Drive for families to pick-up new and gently used Halloween costumes, and a Chemo Bag Drive that put together bags of coloring and activity books, crayons, board games and other uplifting items for children undergoing chemotherapy treatments. We also held our first ever Repair Café, where patrons could bring their clocks, radios, lamps and other household items to the Library to be fixed by our team of expert volunteers.

The Library had a great time seeing our patrons at the Long Island Family Festival at Tanner Park September 16-18! We gave out prizes, played fun games, made crafts, and shared all of the great services the Library provides to the community! Hope to see you again next year!

The Library would like to thank Eileen O’Connell for her 44 years of dedicated service as a Library Trustee. Eileen O’Connell has been a stalwart of the community since moving to Copiague in 1960, and in 1978 was elected to the Copiague Memorial Public Library Board of Trustees, where she served the Library faithfully until June of 2022. Under Eileen’s guidance and leadership, the Library moved from its former location at the renovated Copiague Fire Department building on Great Neck Road to a brand new 25,000 square foot building on Deauville Blvd. It is at this location that the Copiague Memorial Public Library has grown to become an integral part of the community, providing information, entertainment and a variety of services to the residents of Copiague. Through her various civic and volunteer efforts, Eileen O’Connell has set an example as a caring and dedicated member of the Copiague community.

In honor of her service, June 23 was proclaimed Eileen O’Connell Day by the Town of Babylon and a luncheon for Eileen was attended by staff, patrons and well-wishers. Back row: Library Director Kenneth Miller, Board President Ed Mutchnick, Trustee Heather Sattler. Front row: Trustee Joanne Kirshner, Eileen O’Connell, Town of Babylon Supervisor Rich Schaffer.

The Copiague Memorial Public Library has joined a growing number of public libraries across the country in participating in the Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI). The SLI empowers library leaders to advance environmentally sound, socially equitable, and economically feasible practices to intentionally address climate change and help promote thriving communities. One of the projects the Library has decided to undertake under this initiative is the planting of native plant and pollinator gardens.

This native plant garden replaces 800 square feet of lawn, requiring less water and fertilizer and eliminating mowing. The perennial plants in this garden (which include evening primrose, viburnum, rose mallow, coreopsis and winterberry) are native to the northeastern United States, which is better for plant diversity than non-native and invasive species. The pollinator garden (which is located in our back gazebo area and can be viewed from the Children’s and Adult Rooms) replaces 200 square feet of lawn and contains wildflowers (including coneflower, bergamot, milkweed, lupine, poppy and many others) that provide food and habitat to bees, moths, hummingbirds, butterflies and other beneficial insects.

The Copiague Public Library has installed a StoryWalk at the North Amityville Head Start/UNAYO complex, with generous funding assistance from Assemblywoman Kimberly Jean-Pierre and the Friends of the Copiague Library. The StoryWalk installation promotes literacy and exercise by enabling people to read a story as they walk from display to display. Our first book is Maybe Something Beautiful, and new books will be added quarterly. Pictured from left to right: Town of Babylon Beautification Director Viscel Moore,  Friends of the Copiague Library Micki Reda and Carol McLean, Head of Children’s Services Stefanie Gangone, Library Director Kenneth Miller, Assemblywoman Kimberly Jean-Pierre.

Almost 100 patrons enjoyed free popcorn while watching “Sing 2” at our Movie Under the Stars on June 10! Keep an eye out in our Fall newsletter for our next outdoor movie event!

Our June 4 Garage Sale and Friends of the Library Book Sale was a rousing success! More than 50 Copiague residents sold their wares and more than 450 shoppers came down to browse and shop. See you next year!

The Copiague Library would like to thank Town of Babylon Historian Mary Cascone with her knowledge and help in creating our photo collage of historical Copiague photos and history behind our 1858 map of Suffolk County. Pictured is Town Historian Mary Cascone and Library Director Kenneth Miller.

The Copiague Public Library congratulates Library Trustee Christopher O’Connell for being inducted into the Copiague Public School’s Hall of Achievement for his many contributions to the Copiague community. Pictured from left to right are Copiague High School Principal Joseph Agosta, Mr. O’Connell and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Bannon.