LOCAL

Angelica Community Radio facilitates donation of suffrage materials to Southern Tier Library System

Donation celebrates the 100th anniversary of ratification of the 19th amendment

Staff reports
Susan B. Anthony, women's rights leader.

ANGELICA — In celebration of the 100th anniversary of ratification of the 19th amendment, Angelica Community Radio coordinated the "Votes for Women! 19th Amendment Book Club,” a four-part reading and discussion series developed and funded in part by Humanities New York.

The funder loans multiple copies of books to grantees, but one book the organization wished to include had been recently published and was therefore not yet in Humanities NY’s inventory for such a loan. Angelica Community Radio contacted the authors, Susan Goodier and Karen Pastorello, who contacted the publisher (Cornell University Press), which gifted 15 copies of Women Will Vote: Winning Suffrage in New York State.

Rather than keep these books, Angelica Community Radio chose instead to donate them to the Southern Tier Library System (STLS) to become part of its permanent collection so they may circulate among member libraries.

As an additional part of WRAQ’s planned community celebration, the Friends of the Angelica Free Library purchased the Ken Burns-PBS documentary, Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony, intending to screen it for the public over two consecutive evenings. COVID unfortunately upended that plan. The Friends have similarly donated this DVD (which comes with unlimited public screening rights) to STLS.

“Our non-profit, community station exists to enrich the lives of people in our community," said Angelica Community Radio president Jim Ruschak. "The 19th Amendment Book Club program and associated community events paved the way for donations that will enable library patrons in five counties to access these valuable suffrage materials. We are extremely grateful for the generosity of Cornell University Press and the Friends of the Angelica Free Library for helping us to fulfill our mission.”

Angelica Community Radio is a 501c3 community radio station broadcasting from its studio at 19 W. Main St., Angelica at 92.7 FM and streaming on-line. Visit www.WRAQ.org to learn more, email info@wraq.org or call 585-466-5031.