On May 19, Syracuse University Press will officially release The Encyclopedia of New York State, the first comprehensive reference work on New York State in a century and a half. The $2.6-million project, seven years in the making, includes entries by experts that chronicle the state's vast contributions to history and politics; its distinctive cultural traditions; and its heritage in religion, education, business and social reform.
""The publication of The Encyclopedia of New York State reflects the commitment of both Syracuse University Press and Syracuse University to promote New York State as a superb cultural and natural resource," says Peter Webber, director of SU Press.
The book includes coverage of local history and culture from every region of the state on nearly 2,000 pages and in more than 4,000 signed entries. The volume features 500 photographs and figures, 120 maps and 140 tables.
"The Encyclopedia of New York State is a conspectus of the best of contemporary scholarship on New York State. I was privileged to work with the encyclopedia's 1,200 authors and its extraordinarily talented editorial board and staff," says Peter Eisenstadt, the volume's editor-in-chief. "In our collaboration, I hope that we have fashioned a lasting work that does justice to the state's variety, complexity and historical importance."
In the spring of 1998, preliminary funding for the project was secured from the New York State Senate through special legislative grants sponsored by Sen. John A. DeFrancisco, who secured a total of $650,000 toward the completion of the volume. The book also received major support from individual, corporate and foundation gifts, in addition to $640,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
"I am proud to have secured funding for this important project. This encyclopedia will prove to be a valuable resource for our communities and for all New Yorkers," says DeFrancisco. "It will provide a useful educational tool that will be utilized by many and will enable future generations to research a wide array of topics ranging from history to culture to politics. The encyclopedia will also serve as a permanent record of accomplishments and contributions and it will leave a legacy that our state and its people can take pride in."
The Office of Cultural Education, part of the New York State Education Department, provided a home for the book's editorial staff in Albany from 1998-2004. With the help of the New York State Education Department, the New York State Legislature, the NEH, SU Press and SU, the project was completed this spring. The print run for the first edition of the volume is 30,000 copies and the list price is $95. A free copy of the encyclopedia will be distributed to each of New York State's 1,085 public library districts in order to introduce the volume statewide.
"As a leading publisher of books on New York State, we consider this collaborative volume the jewel in our crown," says SU Chancellor Nancy Cantor. "It is a treasure we are proud to make available to every New Yorker through the public library system."
A formal news conference announcing the release of the volume will be held May 19 at SU's E.S. Bird Library, followed by a May 23 news conference at Empire State Plaza in Albany. More information on those events will be announced in the coming days.
With more than 1,200 titles in print, SU Press publishes new and groundbreaking books each year in specialized areas including the Middle East, Irish and Native American studies, Judaica, geography, religion, television and popular culture. It is considered the leading publisher on books about New York State, with more than 125 works on various aspects of the state's political, cultural, literary, religious and natural history currently in print. For more information, visit http://www.syracuseuniversitypress.syr.edu/.
