Syracuse University Press’s Encyclopedia of New York State receives $100,000 state grant

Syracuse University Press’s Encyclopedia of New York State receives $100,000 state grantJune 18, 2002Cynthia J. Moritzcjmoritz@syr.edu

The Encyclopedia of New York State, which is being produced by Syracuse University Press, has received a $100,000 state grant, initiated by Sen. John DeFrancisco (R-49, Syracuse). The latest grant brings to $650,000 the amount of money Sen. DeFrancisco has secured for the project since its inception.

“The Encyclopedia of New York State is at its half-way point,” says Peter Eisenstadt, editor of the encyclopedia. “This would not have been possible without the generous and unstinting assistance of Sen. DeFrancisco.”

“I am pleased that I have been successful in securing another grant for this unique reference book. I’m looking forward to its publication and when it will be found in every public library in New York State,” DeFrancisco says. Each of the 780 public libraries in New York State will receive a copy of the book as a gift from the state to its citizens.

The state grants are being used to offset the editorial costs of producing the encyclopedia, for which work was begun in 1998. The encyclopedia will be published in 2004, and will include about 4,500 entries in 1,500 pages. They will be written by more than 800 authors, including some of the most distinguished authors on New York State topics. The encyclopedia will be organized from A to Z, and will have more than 1,000 illustrations, maps, tables and charts.

The encyclopedia is the first comprehensive study of New York State in more than 50 years. The book will chronicle the state’s vast contribution to history and politics; its distinctive cultural traditions; and its heritage in religion, education, business and social reform.

SU Press was founded in 1943 under the leadership of Chancellor William Pearson Tolley, who believed that a press would enhance the University’s academic prestige. Today it has more than 1,200 titles in print. The press’s ongoing series include Judaica, Irish literature and theater, Adirondack and New York State studies and television and popular culture. It is considered the leading publisher of books about New York State-more than 125 works on various aspects of the state’s political, cultural, literary, religious and natural history are currently in print.