Jazz Afternoon with the Glenda Davenport Quintet Marks Women's History Month at the White Plains Public Library

WHITE PLAINS PUBLIC LIBRARY EXPANDS SERVICE: DEDICATES NEW YORK STATE’S FIRST PUBLIC COLLECTION OF AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE VIDEOS

On Saturday, October 13th at 10am, The White Plains Public Library will expand its service and resources with the dedication of The Ernest W. Marshall American Sign Language Collection, over 200 educational and entertainment videos on American Sign Language (ASL) and the U.S. Deaf community’s culture and heritage. Funded as a gift from the Westchester Foundation for the Deaf to the White Plains Library Foundation, this collection is the first in New York State and the nation’s seventh collection housed in a public library.

The videotapes include sign language teaching videos, ASL translations of children’s stories and original ASL poetry, stories, comedy and drama performances. Historical tapes, biographies, information videos and translations of classical literature, all signed in ASL, demonstrate how sign language can be communicated as clearly and powerfully as spoken and written languages.

Noted film producer Ernest Winfield Marshall (1910-1999) was born deaf and graduated as valedictorian from New York School for the Deaf, currently located in White Plains. During the silent film era, deaf and hearing audiences enjoyed viewing films together. This changed with the advent of sound, when audio dialogue began in films. Marshall was the pioneer in the use of American Sign Language in film, subtitle captioning, and "bouncing ball" subtitles. He produced numerous films including The Debt (1959) and A Cake of Soap (1960). Active in many deaf clubs and organizations nationwide, Marshall received numerous awards, including the Laurent Clerc Award of Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, bestowed for outstanding social contribution by a deaf person in the interest of deaf people.

The Westchester Foundation for the Deaf is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance the quality of both the education and life-skills for the deaf and hard-of-hearing within the Westchester area.

The White Plains Library Foundation is dedicated to raising major private gifts from individuals, corporations and foundations to support the long-term goals of the Library, help enhance services and meet special needs.