Tours & Lectures
Helen N. Barger Research Center and Library
In 1992, Marilyn Barger and Joan Nilsen started to organize newspaper clippings relating to the Sanctuary and its activities. The purpose of the scrapbook was to have a comprehensive collection of material on the history of the Dorflinger-Suydam Wildlife Sanctuary and its various programs. With the help of Sue Courtright, the three original looseleaf binders soon grew to over a dozen binders in need of a shelf. At the same time, Museum Curator Henry Loftus, Jr., started a small collection of reference books on glass.
As she did in the early days of the Museum with her glass collection, Helen Barger gave a number of books to form the nucleus of a new glass reference library at the Museum. With the assistance of glass book specialist Susan Milzman, the library quickly grew from a few dozen books to several hundred - all still in need of shelves.
The Museum received many donations in memory of Helen Barger after her death in 1995. It was felt the best way to remember Mrs. Barger was by converting an unused space in the museum building into a library and research center and, in 1996, the Board of Directors of the Dorflinger-Suydam Wildlife Sanctuary officially designated the newly-established research center as the Helen N. Barger Research Center. This designation was in recognition of the many years which Helen Barger spent in studying, researching and teaching classes about Dorflinger glass. Funded by money donated in memory of Helen N. Barger, the effort was directed by Dr. Walter Barbe and Marilyn Barger.
As a collector of Dorflinger glass for many years, Helen Barger generously gave to the Museum more than 300 pieces of glass from her collection, the original nucleus upon which our present collection is based. Mrs. Barger's library of books on glass and her research notes were donated to the Library by her daughter, Deborah Hanrahan, and her son, Frank Barger, Jr. Significant donations of important research materials were also made by David Dorflinger, Elaine Kreitner, June Dorflinger Hardy and the family of John C. Dorflinger.
With generous support from the American Cut Glass Association, the Helen N. Barger Chapter of the National American Glass Club, the Dorflinger Glass Study Group and many individuals, new computers, printers and a scanner were installed in the Research Center.
Significant Dorflinger archival material, including the Eugene A. Dorflinger, Jr., photo collection, was added to the Library through the generosity of the family of John C. and Lena Poeppel Dorflinger, with special support from the Empire Chapter of the American Cut Glass Association and its members.