I am just ending a week at the 2004 Summer Seminars for High School English Teachers in the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. With a group of 13 other New York English teachers, I was able to study and discuss, under the guiding eye of writer Donald Antrim, the works of the writers of the fantastic. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange and the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe and Donald Barthelme came alive. From other teachers, I received ideas and motivations. From the staff of the center, excellent and loving care. I have, over the years, gone to many summer institutes, and I don't think I enjoyed any of them as much as I loved my week at the Library. It provided me with a sense of importance not often associated with my profession. It enhanced what I do in the classroom. It broadened my research skills. But most importantly, I felt apart of a genuine learning community. Thank you everyone.

Mary S., English Teacher
Mt. Kisco, NY

Here's a story, but it's not my own. When my husband first arrived in New York from South America and started working back-breaking jobs to make ends meet, the local library was the only place he could go for recreation and relaxation outside the cramped apartment he shared with five other immigrants. He read everything and copied down words he couldn't understand, creating a mini-dictionary. He checked out videos and tapes to listen to while commuting to work at 3 a.m. Why am I telling this story and not my husband? Because as I write this he is at school. He is earning his Master's Degree. Thanks, NYPL. We as a city are indebted to you.

Sheina, Graduate Student
New York, NY

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