This library is where all the kids went for story time when they were just tots. Then they took part in many a summer reading program in their school years. The paintings they produced during the years of art classes were proudly displayed here. In later years, many hours were spent looking up references for school papers or college prospects.
Of course nowadays with the internet, many folks think the libraries will become obsolete. Thankfully our town feels that it is a place that must be enlarged so many more families can use it as a place of refuge to read real books, learn crafts or languages, take a CPR or parenting class, and so much more.
We love our library in Saugerties and once it is completed and reopened, we are sure many more families will experience a lot of the same things we did. A computer can never replace the familiar musty smell of old tomes or the joy of feeling the glossy pages of a new magazine. Yes, you can still look up a subject of interest, or find a new recipe from some famous chef's cookbook, but to go through time in many of the historical volumes and escape from reality in the fictional writings of many many authors, just isn't the same as sitting in a corner of the couch on a rainy day and snuggling under a blanket turning page after page of a great book!
It will be fun to go back when the construction trucks are gone and the fences are down to be able to walk through the new building with it's bright and shiny surfaces. Personally, I relish the thought of still being able to return to the library of old that was not torn down, but expanded to do so much more. Kudos to the people of Saugerties for keeping it in town and using the old with the new!
