Library offers a glimpse into history

Joseph Robelin examined the Dust Bowl exhibit last Sunday.

Susan Grieco/Herald

Each double-sided panel has its own history lesson.

Susan Grieco/Herald

Folk duo Russ Seeger and Caroline Doctorow performed a concert as a complement the exhibit.

Susan Grieco/Herald

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Residents who visit the East Meadow Public Library throughout the next few weeks have the opportunity to receive a dose of a not very widely known — but extremely important — part of history: the Dust Bowl.

Right inside the front entrance sit several double-sided panels, each inscribed with information that covers the period from a different historical angle, including its causes and aftermath.

The exhibit, called “Dust, Drought and Dreams Gone Dry,” recalls the drought that wreaked havoc on the Great Plains in the 1930s — considered one of the worst man-made ecological disasters in American history — and explores its environmental and cultural consequences.

Only 25 libraries in the country received the exhibit, organized by the American Library Association Public Programs Office, the Oklahoma State University Library, and the Mount Holyoke College Library. It was made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.

Some of the panels contain a QR code, allowing patrons to use their Smartphone to scan it and hear first-person accounts of the Dust Bowl.

The library has also planned multiple events throughout the coming weeks to complement the exhibit, including films and concerts. Last Sunday featured Caroline Doctorow, whose music gives a new interpretation of earlier American folk songs.

The exhibit will remain at the library until Feb. 18. Visit eastmeadow.info/newsletter/current.pdf to see more of the upcoming events.