Library has children’s best interests at heart

Dear Editor:

Re “Another mural controversy in Red Hook — this time at the library,” Sept. 14, 2020:

We, the Red Hook Public Library Board of Trustees, are writing to support our director, Dawn Jardine, and our staff, completely and unequivocally.

The purpose of the Children’s Learning Garden is to give young patrons an outdoor space that is welcoming and engaging, and fosters curiosity and exploration. It originally was designed as an outdoor extension of the Children’s Library. And just as other sections of the library are refreshed periodically, the children’s spaces also are receiving attention.

In 2019, both the indoor Children’s Library and the garden were reimagined, and a project was undertaken with the goal of increasing a young patron’s ability to independently interact with library resources. The indoor space received childsized furniture, new toys, and a redesigned space with cozy reading nooks. As part of the same project, the garden was updated with child-sized furniture, weather-watching equipment and child-sized gardening tools.

The last part of the project is to redecorate the retaining wall so it becomes part of the interactive character of the space. Our giant chalkboard will depict the life cycle of the monarch butterfly, and children will be free to exercise their creativity. In this space, there will be no repercussions for writing on the wall!

The library staff is delivering the highest quality programs, services and facilities to the

Red Hook community. It is why the library is held in such high regard.

Josh Bardfield, Maryelisa

Blundell, Sally DwyerMcNulty, Beth Goldberg, Amy Husten, Don O’Shea

Red Hook