Bridgehampton Community House
2357 Montauk Highway at School Street | Bridgehampton, NY 11932
Open:
Saturdays 10 am – 12 pm 
Tuesdays 10 am – 12 pm 
And by appointment

The HAH LoGerfo Library

The Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons is pleased to remind East End gardeners that our Library remains open for their year-round use. Located on the ground floor of the Bridgehampton Community House, with a convenient entry near the School Street parking lot, the library is open every Saturday and Tuesday from 10:00am to 12:00pm. Admission is also possible by appointment; such special arrangement must be requested in advance by leaving a phone message for the library staff at 631-537-2223. The library may also be open at other times, but call first to be sure there is someone there to admit you.

Our horticultural book collection is one of the finest on Long Island. It is frequently updated with acquisitions of new publications and with generous donations from the collections of local gardeners. Subscriptions to numerous horticultural societies and magazines provide us with scholarly journals as well as popular periodicals. We also have an extensive collection of DVDs that can be viewed at the library or checked out by members. Catalogs from a great variety of nurseries are also available to be read in the library.

Admission is free to all. Enrolled members of the Horticultural Alliance are permitted to check out books, periodicals, DVDs and other materials from the library. Non-members may use the collection as a reference library during open hours.

To search our collection of over 3,000 books click this link: 

John LoGerfo was a medical technologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC in the 1950’s. He received a faculty appointment in the Biology Department at C.W. Post on Long Island in 1958. He remained at Post for 30 years and won the Dean’s Award for Exceptional Contribution in Education at the School of Health Professions. He initiated many of the programs taught at the school of health professions…nutrition, nursing, nuclear medicine, health administration, community health cytotechnology, and radiologic technology.

Each year he received major grants for Post that were used for laboratory development, state of the art equipment, new courses, new instructors and fellowships for students. Because of his efforts the health care system in the New York area and elsewhere included many C.W. Post alumni in leadership positions in hospitals, research centers, and universities. John received his Doctorate in Education from Columbia University at this time. Even in retirement he continued to be involved in education. He was associated with Southampton College, where he offered programs in another of his strong interest areas, horticulture.

John retired to Sag Harbor in about 1987 and it was at this time that his life intersected with two fellow gardeners from Amagansett. Neighbors who liked to chat over their common fence about horticulture, Bill Shank, an architectural designer, and John Whitney, a garden designer and horticulturist, decided they wanted to develop more connections with the East End horticultural community. John came up with idea of a not-for-profit organization which would include a library and study opportunities. John Whitney and John LoGerfo enthusiastically pursued the idea of a horticultural library. There were no funds for such a venture so John LoGerfo took it upon himself to fundraise by conducting a simple yard and plant sale. As time went on the sales expanded as did the membership and the library. John LoGerfo became Education Chairman.

Within a short time a first meeting at St. Ann’s Church attracted a dynamic group of men and women dedicated to fostering the art and science of horticulture on the East End. HAH grew quickly…a newsletter was started, a quarterly journal was added and highly respected professional speakers were brought east for lectures. Everything that was accomplished was done by members volunteering their time and energy in pursuit of a common passion for plants and gardening.

In 1988 the library wish list requested about 10 horticultural magazines and about 100 books from the public. HAH rented a small, dilapidated room on the north side of the community house. Members volunteered to scrape the paint off all the walls. In 1994 HAH moved to the present room and built bookcases and storage facilities. It was renovated in 2013. Through donations and purchases the library had about 3000 volumes by 2015. It is one of the largest libraries of its kind on Long Island.

Nearly 37 years later, most of the work at HAH is still done by volunteers from the membership. Needless to say, we stand on the shoulders of many former dedicated members with a great vision.

Joan DiMonda,
HAH Library Chair
2023

HAH Library article  written for and published by the East Hampton Star, April 23, 2015