Scott Wyner is the current Vice President of the SML Board of Trustees, having served on the Board for three years. He is also a board member of the Upper Hudson Library System. It seems appropriate that Scott spends a lot of his time involved with libraries because his life and interests span the classes of the Dewey Decimal system!

020 Library & information sciences
In grade school, I did my homework and read most every science fiction novel in the Kings Highway Branch in Brooklyn. In college and law school, I did research in the main branch of the New York Public Library and the Library of Congress, two extraordinary libraries. In grad school, I worked in the university’s library to help pay tuition.

My introduction to the Stephentown library was hardly academic. Each week I picked over the CD section for novels and histories to listen to while commuting to Albany.

340 Law
I got a law degree and for over thirty years, I worked as a civil litigator in several large and small New York City law firms. Now I work for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets as its general counsel, and, from time to time, teach an on-line negotiation theory course to MBA students at CUNY’s School of Professional Studies.

400: Languages
I studied in Japan for a year and went to graduate school for Japanese Studies. I continue to study Japanese at meetups in Troy’s wonderful old library.

580: Plants
When my wife and I moved to Stephentown from Brooklyn in 2012, we started to garden. We plant in the spring and don’t weed enough in the summer. This fall, we will finally harvest and dry our hops and brew some beer.

590: Animals
With the move to the country, we added a very big dog to keep our other dog company. Our dogs have all the wildlife any dog might want to bark at and neighbors far enough away not to mind.

641: Food and drink
In late winter, we tap around 50 of our sugar maples and boil hundreds of gallons of sap over a wood fire to produce around 8 to 10 gallons of syrup each year, selling most of that syrup at library fundraisers. This year’s syrup is particularly good, will sweeten your life and every penny raised helps the library.

700: Arts & recreation
I have gone to painting classes, concerts, readings, and dance lessons at the Library.

910 Geography & travel
I studied in Japan for a year during college and recently returned with my family to visit the family that hosted me so many years ago.

You might wonder why someone as busy as Scott Wyner volunteers his time on the Board. Turns out, it’s pretty simple. “I love the library. It’s a community center and a safe place for kids. It offers programs, lectures, movies, and other good stuff. Through its own collection, interlibrary loans, and internet resources, you can get pretty much whatever you may want or need.”