History (1982-Present)

Twenty years later, one of the summer programs held at the Institute of Man and Science — now the Hilltown Commons — was a series of lectures about Japanese culture. Members of the ISHP contributed to the program.

In 1996, the library expanded into an adjacent property acquired from the estate of Vivian Anderson Borthwick (librarian from 1929 to 1939). Some minor renovations made at this time to the existing library building revealed evidence of the Society’s past. 

When the paint of a door to a seldom used office on the second floor was stripped off, letters remained of a sign that read, “Office of the ISHP.” Shelf paper removed from a couple of shelves exposed the faint outline of glued-on paper labels designating the shelves for haiku poetry books.

In 2010, renovations to the library basement unearthed the original metal ISHP sign. Apparently, back in 1942 when the sign was removed, it had been wrapped in white silk and buried in the basement’s dirt floor. The sign had disintegrated, but rust from the metal had stained the silk with an outline of the original sign. The silk was preserved in a file cabinet at the Rensselaerville Historical Society.

In the early 2010's, the library hosted a series of writers’ festivals (Festival of Writers or FOW). As part of the festival in 2013, The Haiku Project was launched. 

The Haiku Project was a challenge taken up by five poets who agreed to write a haiku a day for the month of April, National Poetry Month. For three consecutive years, the Project produced limited edition haiku books, broadsheets, and ephemera. 

As part of the 2014 FOW, Shin Yu Pai — acclaimed haiku poet, artist, and poet laureate of Seattle, WA in 2023/24 — led a haiku workshop, which was attended by many Society members. Some of these poets approached her during the cocktail hour and told her of the Society’s history and that the Society had over 5,000 members worldwide. 

New Year’s Day in 2025, known as Shōgatsu in Japan, members of ISHP rebooted the Rensselaerville headquarters with a Board of Directors. They established guidelines for new members, and produced membership cards, bookmarks, and note pads. 

In October of that year, a replica of the original metal sign was installed in a more permanent place outside an entrance to the library. The Society also announced an annual Haiku Writers’ Residency, which will be housed in the apartment adjoining the office on the second floor.  

Membership in the Society is available at the library and applications to the Residency can be addressed to director@rensselaervillelibrary.org.