119. The Mid-Hudson Libraries

Rebecca: [00:00:00] I

think it's retained a lot of its traditional uses, but is added on to respond to what society is facing today. So I think you're still getting access to literature and really factual information and having a guide by your side with trained information professionals in each of the buildings across the Hudson Valley.

What we've seen over the past 20 to 25 years is a massive shift in offering programs for the public, diversifying the types of collections that we're offering, and I really see us at this point on the front lines of some of the most important social issues of our time from. Combating social isolation and loneliness.

You know, libraries are some of the few places you can go that are non-partisan, non-commercial. You mentioned the phrase third spaces before. We are that in every little town across the state. So I think that [00:01:00] there is that sense of community that libraries are more of a catalyst for than I think they were in the past.

For sure. And then there's just the. Kind of unlimited opportunities to help people come together to learn. And so that recognition of different learning styles has been something that I've noticed in terms of an evolution of libraries over the past 20 years is really understanding that not everyone learns by reading.

Some people need to hear information or experience expertise through a hands-on learning experience. And so libraries have grown their spaces, their staff expertise, and what they're delivering to respond to all of those learning style. Which has created a lot of exciting opportunities, not only to expand how we think of library collections from just books to books and movies and eBooks and audiobooks, and now we have something called the library of things where you can borrow, uh, birdwatching kits and gardening tools and seed libraries.

Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah. Yeah. So libraries are really creative now thinking about library [00:02:00] things,

Mat: right?

Rebecca: Yeah.

Song: Down in the valley, moved up from the city. It's a new way of living and trying get used. One park ounce of an idiot ordered a Manhattan and they called me a city.

When you.

I'm looking a place, but.

Mat: I am Matt Zucker, and this is CT Learning to Live and Love Life [00:03:00] in the Hudson Valley. Now, Hudson Valley has a rich history of libraries. We can thank a lot of people for that, including Andrew Carnegie. The New York State Library in Albany dates back to 1818. The Star Library in Reinbeck, New York has a history dating back to 1862, making it more than like 160 years old, and Reinbeck had a public reading room even earlier in 1857.

New York has about two dozen collaborative library systems, including the Mid-Hudson Library system with its 66 libraries and 70 locations across five counties. I talked to Rebecca, the executive director of the Mid-Hudson Library System about libraries, the system itself, how they've changed with the times about books and local authors, bands, books, and what you can do to support libraries.

And this great activity going on right now. You know how I like to tell you what you should go do the Mid-Hudson Library Road trip. You [00:04:00] don't even have to have a library card to participate. You just stop in, pick up a map, and through October, stop by as many as you can. What a great way to see all these little, cute buildings.

And also seems like a great rainy day activity too, which we probably need a lot of. And if you love libraries as much as I do and really wanna support, you can download Libby the app. To download books or please go even farther and like me, sign up to be a library advocate through the New York Library Association.

That's right. Sign up to be an advocate for New York's libraries. We are about to hit some rough patches given what's going on in Washington, here in New York funding wise and the more like-minded folks that are willing to speak up for libraries, the better. I'll put a link in the show notes and on the episode page.

Now let's talk to Rebecca.

Hi, Rebecca. Hi

Rebecca: Matt.

Mat: Thanks for coming on Cidiot. Well, thank you so much for having

Rebecca: me. Thrilled to be here.

Mat: Great. This season, we've talked about [00:05:00] poetry, we've talked about music, we've talked about wine, and so we're really, we're in, we're deep in the culture, so it's really appropriate to talk about about books.

Brian and I are, are big readers. My, my father-in-law's a big reader. And a college professor. My, my mother has her MLS degree, so she needs Good. Oh, awesome. Yeah, so we're like, we're really, we're really into the topic of, of libraries and books. Although I will say, even though I've been here 10 years, I don't know as much as I should be.

So maybe we talk about you first, like what your connection to the Hudson Valley is.

Rebecca: Yeah, sure. I've got a long connection to the Hudson Valley. I'm born and raised here. I'm actually named after my eighth great grandmother who lived in Dutchess County. You're kidding. Um, so yeah. So we not only have lived here our entire lives and for several generations, but my dad was a huge library user, so.

When my first career didn't work out, he suggested libraries, which he had told me about when I was in college and I didn't do it. But I've been at the Mid Hudson Library system for 27 years [00:06:00] now, the past seven as the executive director, and I absolutely love serving the communities I grew up in. So it's a great match for me.

Mat: What's the attraction for you? Like what is it about LI libraries?

Rebecca: You know, I, I, I said my dad was a, a big library proponent. Yeah. He was a library trustee for 10 years in Pleasant Valley. He took my brothers and I to the library, uh, every, I think twice a week. It was my only access to computers for a long time growing up in school.

Oh. So it was. Super important to us, not just because we're, you know, ardent readers, but also that access to technology. That kind of dawn of the internet and public computing, that was huge for our family at the beginning. So when I really understood, as I kind of moved into adulthood how critical my success was in school at.

College and then ultimately my career, I could trace it not only back to the care and attention of my parents and you know, their mentoring of me, but also my exposure to literature and culture and technology at my local library. So understanding the [00:07:00] ripple effect that public libraries have and hundreds of thousands of lives in the Hudson Valley.

It's pretty hard not to be excited about it.

Mat: And what about do you think now versus then? I mean, I, I agree. Like for the technology and the access was a big part of my generation growing up, as well as having kind of a, a space to, to go to study and focus. 'cause this was before Starbucks, before the third place, you know, that kind of thing.

Mm-hmm. What do you think it is now? Like what, what role does it play now that might be different or the same?

Rebecca: I think it's retained a lot of its traditional uses, but is added on to respond to what society is facing today. So I think you're still getting access to literature and really factual information and having a guide by your side with trained information professionals in each of the buildings across the Hudson Valley.

But what we've seen over the past 20 to 25 years is a massive shift in offering programs for the public. Diversifying the types of collections that we're offering, [00:08:00] and I really see us at this point on the front lines of some of the most important social issues of our time from combating social isolation and loneliness.

Mm-hmm. You know, libraries are some of the few places you can go that are non-partisan, non-commercial. You mentioned the phrase third spaces before. We are that in every little town across the state. So I think that there is that sense of community that libraries are more of a catalyst for than I think they were in the past.

For sure. And then there's just the kind of unlimited opportunities to help people come together to learn. And so that recognition of different learning styles has been something that I've noticed in terms of an evolution of libraries over the past 20 years is really understanding that not everyone learns by reading.

Some people need to hear information or experience expertise through a hands-on learning. Experience. And so libraries have grown their spaces, their staff expertise and what they're delivering to respond to all of those learning styles, which has created a lot [00:09:00] of exciting opportunities, not only to expand how we think of library collections from just books to.

Books and movies and eBooks and audiobooks. And now we have something called the library of things where you can borrow, uh, birdwatching kits and gardening tools and seed libraries. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah. Yeah. So libraries are really creative now. I was thinking about library

Mat: things, right?

Rebecca: Yeah. So yeah, we've got libraries, lending, all sorts of stuff.

We have a special program called The Library of Local 17 of our libraries, specialize with, um, feed libraries, gardening tools, as well as items that folks need to think about for disaster preparedness and recovery. So really thinking about how we contribute to community resilience, but also a lot of, I think, yeah.

Items that help encourage people to get out into the world. So we partner with museums across the Hudson Valley and Lend Museum passes. So if you know the price point of a museum pass is a little too high for you, you can just use your library card and borrow it from a local library and go to libraries from [00:10:00] New York City up to Albany.

It's really pretty cool.

Mat: Wow. I bet people don't know that. At least I didn't. And what about the Mid-Hudson library system versus. Other system. I mean, I, I grew up in the suburbs of New Jersey, so we had like the Springfield public library, but I would often go study at the Summit Library 'cause it was like I could drive my car.

Like it was more fun to go some, to go to another, another town, you know? Yeah. And then, um, and then I was lived in York City for a while, which has these huge libraries and it has a system, the sense of a system where you can, like, if you can't get a book, you get it from somewhere else.

Rebecca: Mm-hmm.

Mat: The mid Huddon library systems is, is pretty big.

You're across a bunch of counties. I'm curious how it works.

Rebecca: Yeah, and we're actually one of 23 public library systems in New York State, and we cover a pretty large geography the size of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined. So we have, uh, Columbia Green, Duchess Putnam, and Ulster County. We have 66 libraries that work together, so the Mid-Hudson [00:11:00] Library system facilitates the cooperation.

Sorry, 66

Mat: libraries.

Rebecca: That's right. 66 libraries in 70 locations. A couple of them have branches, but they're all independent. They all have their own local boards, their own local funding. And then the Mid-Hudson Library System helps them work together to save money, be more efficient, learn together, really accelerate adoption of new technology and ideas.

It helps them provide the best possible service to their community at the most affordable price point. So we work together to create opportunities for the libraries to have, they all have shared software they use to run the front desk and a shared online catalog. So you can go and kind of shop across all 66 libraries for the stuff you wanna borrow.

And then a physical system that helps deliver items from one library to the other. So we're not paying mailing charges to get stuff from one place to the other. So our job is really to break down barriers to access and make the. Things more affordable for everyone across the Hudson Valley. Yeah.

Mat: And so do I, like, I just moved, so I, I was in Hudson.

Mm-hmm. Beautiful, [00:12:00] beautiful library downtown Hudson. Yeah, it's in the old like armory or so, and then the, I just moved to a town outside of it too. So do I join my local town library or do I keep the Hudson or do I join the M? The MHLS. What do I join? So you

Rebecca: can keep your, so if you got a local library card in the Hudson Library, it actually works in all 66 libraries.

Yeah. So you don't need to get a new card. You would go into your new library though and let them know you've moved there so you can connect with their newsletter and make sure. The data is they're getting credit for your checkouts, so they get the good data points on that. But yeah, your card will still work in every library across the system, so, yeah.

Very cool.

Mat: Hey, random question about Yeah. People, people lend borrowing stuff. Mm-hmm. And, and not returning, like what's the rate of like how many people really return and don't returning and, you know, I'm just curious. Yeah.

Rebecca: I gotta say, people in the Hudson Valley are pretty honest. We have a very high return rate.

And you might be surprised to know most of our libraries don't charge fines anymore, really? Um, which was something that was actually a bigger barrier to people [00:13:00] returning things 'cause they were so embarrassed about it. Most libraries don't charge fines. Um, but if you never brought it back, they would bill you for the item.

But like I said, most people are really good at get back about getting things back. They're just, they have very busy lives, right? So sometimes they can't hit the mark on the first deadline. Um, so yeah, not a big concern for us.

Mat: That's really funny because I, I mean, I, I probably would return stuff like early, like, I'm so compulsive.

Rebecca: We like that too. 'cause then the next person can borrow it,

Mat: so. Okay. Well here, let's, let's talk a little bit about the road trip. I was reading about the road trip, so this is like a big, a big event happening. It's already un, it's already underway, but it goes through through the fall. So what, what is it?

What's the road trip?

Rebecca: So just like the questions you had about what does the library do today, we thought a lot of people might not be familiar with what's going on at all these libraries. They drive past all the time throughout the Hudson Valley. And we really wanna celebrate the fact that all these libraries are doing a great job and they're all connected through the Mid-Hudson library system.

So we're using this idea of a road [00:14:00] trip across the Hudson Valley to encourage people to go and visit all of the libraries across the Hudson Valley. You can earn. Souvenirs while you do it and you get to certain benchmarks. Like if you get to 10 libraries, you get a sticker, you go to half of the libraries, you get a tote bag.

But we're really excited to see people be exposed to what's going on in libraries today, not just assume they know what it is or it's just about books, but to really see the creativity, innovation, amazing programs and collections all of our libraries are offering. And it's also an awesome excuse to get out there and visit other local businesses, go hiking in an area of the Hudson Valley you haven't before.

So people are having a great time. Doing this. And you're right, it runs through October 18th, so there's plenty of time to join in.

Mat: And what if you, if you're not a library card, like do I have to have a library card to do it or can my weekenders do it? Like, you know, can anyone do it?

Rebecca: Anyone can do it. All you have to do is stop into a library, pick up a physical map.

It's a, a brochure that's all folded up. Um, and you don't need a library card to get one of those. And you just travel around getting stamps almost like a passport on your [00:15:00] map. And so you hit some of those benchmarks to get the souvenirs.

Mat: It's actually a good rainy day activity since Oh yeah, the weather's been such torture.

Rebecca: Yeah. We actually had someone finish it already. We've only been doing this really for two weeks and he already got to all 70 sites. But I was thinking that's the same thought I had. The rain probably was motivating to do something they could do indoors.

Mat: I mean, I know people who wanna visit every baseball stadium, but something he visited all 70.

Yeah, all 70 sites across these, all these counties.

Rebecca: Yeah. In less than two weeks.

Mat: What's the furthest out library? Is it like out in s Like what's the furthest like west?

Rebecca: Furthest west is probably Pine Hill in Ulster County. Mm. Um, in the town of s Shandaken. And then furthest north is the New Lebanon library in Columbia County.

Wow. Uh, furthest south is probably Mahopac or Mahopac if you're from that area. Yeah. Um, down in Putnam County.

Mat: Cool. What about East?

Rebecca: Let's see. East, I think it would be a tie. 'cause we've got libraries all lined up along the eastern border. You've got Roeliff [00:16:00] Janssen, and Ancram. Then you've got Northeast Millerton, Dover Pauling are all kind of in a line up down the east side of the system.

Mat: Yeah, this is, you know, I'm, I'm a Dutchess County tourist ambassador. So you know, I live in Columbia now. Nice. So I should probably merge it with my itineraries. Very good idea. I like that. Yeah, yeahs, a lot of the libraries

Rebecca: have really cool buildings too. You know this, this area. I know. They're so cute. It's a good excuse

Mat: to go to go inside and see them.

Rebecca: Exactly. I mean, our system has some of the oldest libraries in the state, Reinbeck, Wappingers Falls, stone Ridge. They're have been around since the 17 hundreds and really some of the buildings have been around since the 17 hundreds.

Mat: Yeah, you're right. The Rhinebeck library's really old. I forgot about that.

Rebecca: Yeah. Yeah.

Mat: The red hook one's really cute too. It's on like this, on this, like on this little creek, on this water, and it's like a, it's like an octagon. It's like a cool shape.

Rebecca: Yeah, it's an old octagon house. Very cool. And they're doing some great work in the back to connect people with nature to that body of water behind it.

They've now got a, they're building a walkway around it to have [00:17:00] folks have a little more access to the outdoors Right in the village.

Mat: Any really like surprising libraries, people should know about that they wouldn't think of? Like, what are your favorites?

Rebecca: Well, I can't tell you what my favorites are. That's like picking your favorite kid. Right. Um, we've got libraries that are in really interesting buildings. You mentioned Hudson before, which is a former armory.

Yeah, so very creative use of space as well as being co-located with some other community organizations, which is super smart. So we love to see that kind of ingenuity. You've got like the Clinton Library, which is embedded in the town campus. You've got the Stone Ridge Library, which is in the oldest library building in the region from us.

I think it's 1780s. [00:18:00] Front building was built. And so there's just all this history right in the buildings themselves, let alone what's going on, on the shelves and in the databases and, and the programs.

Mat: Yeah. That's great. And what about books do do a favor, I guess it's not just books, it's also things, but let's talk about about books.

Do you have any favor? Books. You think people that are out this summer or, you know, that could be a destination too.

Rebecca: There's so many good reads out right now. I, I've never seen so many like quality choices for a summer that I have here in 2015. So we do a lot of curation to help people figure out what to read next.

So on the front of the online catalog, the front of what we call Libby, which is our download app to get eBooks and downloadable audiobooks, you're gonna see curated lists. Created by the library staff of things they think you'll like to read this summer. So all sorts of good picks. But I always love to highlight, you know, some of our local authors.

Yeah. We just have such a rich, uh, it's almost like an embarrassment of riches of local [00:19:00] authors and folks doing such quality work here, right. In the Hudson Valley. And I was thinking about, you know, how to make sure we highlight some of those folks that live here are writing about the Hudson Valley and really helping us have that sense of place in the valley, which is.

Something I know you strive to do on the podcast as well. A hidden gem is Robert Burke Warren. He moved up here, host nine 11, and wrote about his life, kind of how drastic of a change that was coming up from New York City. All of a sudden finding themselves in a more rural area and being a stay at home dad.

He's got this great book called Perfectly Broken about that story, and I think it reflects the lives of a lot of people who've moved up here. Yeah, he is kind of a idiot. Yeah. Post nine 11 after COVID. I think it really reflects a lot of the newer residents lived experiences.

Mat: Yeah. I mean, there's some, you know, Gary Shteyngart, you know, Our Country Friends.

You know, friends. That was more of a fiction, but it was, you know, he wrote it while during the pandemic. Hmm. I put together a little bit of a collection in my bookstore about. Book books that either take place [00:20:00] here, right. Or ab. Nice. Or about about, about the move up here. Also, obviously the history of this region's fascinating.

Yeah. I mean we talk a lot about the, I've had some guests on too talk about the history 'cause there's like the revolutionary layer, which everybody talks about, but there's plenty of other layers of history we have as, as well.

Rebecca: Yeah. I'm a total nerd. I have read both volumes of Vernon Benjamin's, the history of the Hudson River Valley.

Yeah. That one like it's a classic's a big Right. That's a big one. One. That's the

Mat: tome, that's the,

Rebecca: you know, we all knew, but. I'm really excited about the natural world here and just how beautiful it is. You know, my husband and I, we've lived here our whole lives. We travel all over the world and every time we come back we're like, Nope.

Still the most beautiful. So right now I'm reading a book by an author from Bard, Patricia, uh, Ian, uh, the Forest Euphoria and the Queerness of Nature. It's so wonderful and it reminds me of my childhood growing up here in the Hudson Valley and kind of, kind of being locked out doors all day during the summer and having to like, kind of find my way in the woods and learn more about nature.

And so I'm just so impressed with [00:21:00] the breadth of options we have to read about from local authors, from lived experiences, to culture, to art, to history, to the rocks and the animals. It's just so many choices. When I saw you were gonna ask me this question, I got nervous because I'm like, how could I ever do that justice?

Mat: Well, you did. You did. And too well any, especially since you, you know, you, you are from here and I'm only. 10 or 11 years new. Is any, any impressions? I mean, I use the word city in the pejorative of, I, I'm trying to make it a positive. I'm trying to make fun, but it's about getting acclimated, right? It's about, it's about making this.

Place your own, even if your street is not, your name is not on a street sign and you weren't born here, but do you have any advice, advice for us that are new? Because I would think that a lot of weekenders and, and newcomers and stuff don't, don't participate in the local library system. I don't know.

Maybe, or maybe they do. Maybe do, do you see them? Do you not see them? We,

Rebecca: we definitely see them, but we suspect we're not seeing the majority of them. Um, yeah. It has completely shifted the [00:22:00] demographics. You know, before COVID, we were facing demographics in the Hudson Valley, which is one of the saddest things to say out loud, but a decline in the school aged children demographic and post COVID.

That's completely turned around thanks to the folks who have moved north into our region, but I, I've watched for many years this. Issue that you've just identified of kind of the how do we become a community when there, there is this very obvious change in demographics from folks that moved out from the city and folks who have been here for generations and before I was the executive director.

I what I was, what they call library consultant. And I would help our libraries build buildings and past referendums and really develop services that would respond to the needs of the community. And I would do these focus groups. I did over 250 focus groups across the Hudson Valley. And the thing that always strikes me is that regardless of how long you've lived here, you have shared values.

You know, people really respect the history of this place, the environment, the natural [00:23:00] environment. A lot of folks moved here because they like to be outdoors, they like to garden, they like to go hiking, and a lot of people are looking for that kind of traditional participation in a community where you go to a 4th of July parade and you know everyone at the volunteer fire department and you show up for each other when there's a.

A bad storm in the aftermath, and I think that's what's going to make the Hudson Valley one of the best places in the world to live for for many years to come. Are those shared values

Mat: and how do you think. We can support the library. I mean, I guess there's things like just by participating and taking borrowing, it shows the stats, it shows it's needed.

So u using it is one way to help, but how, how do you think we all can can help participate? Is it about writing a check? Is it about. Donating books or maybe you don't want any more books, you want ca cash, you know, or baked goods or something. Or like gluten-free cookies. I could make my, my sister-in-law is a constant, you know?

So what do you, what do you, what could we do to [00:24:00] support. The system.

Rebecca: I think in general, being a, a library ambassador, you know, helping more people connect with what's there, even if it's not for you, you may think to yourself, I love having my Kindle and, and buying books, but other folks don't have that wherewithal or might wanna save a few books here and there.

And like helping other people know what's available at their local library might surprise and delight them and also save them a lot of money as well as help their kids have a brighter future. So I think. Being an ambassador, using the library, signing up for their newsletter, and kind of listening for what they need, whether it's a yes vote on the budget vote, or a check for the fundraising campaign or volunteers for the book sale.

I think it's a great place to find community if that's something you're seeking and those volunteer opportunities as well as these shared learning opportunities to come together and learn together. So I think, uh, sometimes I call libraries are, are rooms of requirement. They can be what they need that you need them to be.

Mat: Wow, that's a good line. Rooms a requirement, so it's not just about writing a [00:25:00] check then,

Rebecca: um, they'll, they'll appreciate the cash. No doubt.

Mat: Well, that's interesting though, to sign up on the, you're right to sign up on the, because everyone, each library probably has some kind of newsletter, so you have to Yeah, definitely.

Yeah. You won't know what they need if you don't sign up for it and they will tell you. So. That's right. Sign

Rebecca: up for the newsletter. Follow 'em on social media. They're all on Instagram and Facebook for sure.

Mat: Yeah, and I'll put, put links in the show notes and on the episode page both to the, the road trip so people can see the cute maps.

I love maps. Nice. Um, and also maybe to some of the libraries, or at least to some of the ones I know about in some of these notes.

Rebecca: That sounds great.

Mat: Thank you for doing that. I ask a lot of guests about like their favorite place. 'cause I, I'd love to make a map of the Hudson Valley and all the guests favorite secret spots.

Um, so I'll ask you that too, if you've got like a good secret spot, but maybe it's about a secret spot for reading a good book, right? Like, so I go to the library and I borrow a book instead of a bird feeding kid or something like binoculars. Um, but where, what's [00:26:00] your favorite go-to place for reading a good book?

Rebecca: I'm an introvert, so I like to read at home or at my libraries, but I would say we can't all come to your house. We're not all coming over. Nope. Um, but I, one of my absolute favorite spots throughout the entire Hudson Valley. I go back to it again and again and again. I went there on my wedding day. I drag all my friends there, uh, is in a free gardens in Millbrook.

I just find it to be one of the most beautiful, peaceful places on earth.

Mat: Uh, I love, well, you know, I was just there with my brother and sister, actually. Oh, nice. And I, and it, and it just, it reopens in, in May, I think. Mm-hmm. And then, you know, and, um, it's stunning. I mean, all and different times of the year, it has different things, but it's like a Japanese style garden.

Mm-hmm. So it's very mm-hmm. Designed and interesting and you walk around the lake and it's just, it's a really unusual place and it's just outside the village of Millbrook. So it's really, it's a great location, kind of. Yeah. I was in the middle of the mid, mid Hudson library in a way. It's

Rebecca: pretty accessible from the Parkway too, which is great.

Yeah. For folks that are coming. Yeah, it's right off the park, right off the taco. Yeah.

Mat: Yeah.

Rebecca: My, [00:27:00] my, I grew up near there in Pleasant Valley, and my mom would take us there like on a normal summer day. Like I didn't think it was anything special. It was just like another place she would try to tire us out, you know, for the day.

And as I got older and I kept. Back, I realized how special the place was and how unique it is. It's such a, it's such a gem.

Mat: Yeah. Can try. Can try. One thing I wanted to ask you was about this whole like band book issue and stuff, which is so bizarre to me, but I don't have, I don't have kids, so I don't see them having it.

So the only band books are like too many when we have too many and we don't have the bookshelves for them, you know? So I, and then I looked through the list of what, what's on band book lists and like the PIN center, Penn America or something. Mm-hmm. They've got a list and it's got like the Handmaid's Tale, which is like.

Ironic to make that a bit like, it's just crazy, insane. And then there's a lot of books I don't even recognize. How do you deal with this issue? Is it a community driven thing? Do you ignore it? Do you have to fight it? Is it okay in some places? How does the system think about this band book thing [00:28:00] and, and, sorry, and it, has it come up here?

Has it moved to the Northeast or is it really a fringe? Thing that happens elsewhere in the country. I'm really naive about this. I'm very c about this.

Rebecca: I think it's something that we, we've definitely seen in other parts of the country more than we have here. You can definitely see concentrations of it in the southeast and southwest and northwest of the country here in New York.

I would say we've seen it more in school libraries than we have public libraries, but we have had a handful of folks challenging things and I think. One of the cool things about public libraries is that you get to decide. You decide what you're gonna read and what your kid is going to read. And so our job we feel as librarians and library leaders is to defend that, right?

To allow you to choose what you want to read and what your kids read. So we don't want folks dictating that or one. Ideology dictating what's available for read in libraries. So I think one of the very strong things about libraries across the Hudson Valley and the [00:29:00] public library world is that they're each run by a volunteer board made up of neighbors in that town, and they're the ones that are setting the policies and defending your right to read at that local level.

And I think we don't see that in other parts of the country, and that's part of why it's a bigger issue in other parts of the country because it's not neighbors making decisions for neighbors, it's. A lot of times outsiders trying to dictate what you have the right to read or not. So I see our role always as defending the right to read and breaking down barriers to assure your rights under the Constitution, and allowing people that don't want their kids to read certain things, to have that choice.

That's fine. So in public libraries, I feel like we have more ability to. Behave that way and act that way than school librarians do. Mm-hmm. Who are working under directives for curriculum or more sensitive nature of this particular topic due to the fact that their kids are of captive audiences in the school.

So I think they've taken the brunt of this issue and that there is a [00:30:00] occurrence lawsuit here in New York with the Education Commissioner versus Moms for Liberty or, or vice versa. The Moms for Liberty of suing the state education department. Um, but I've been so proud of New Yorkers who have just stepped up and still won.

See the rights of kids as well as adults to have their rights preserved as well, to read books and understand the world around them, and the lived experiences of folks that are not like them is so critical. So I think we are certainly still fighting that battle across the country, and MidHudson takes an active role in this.

We're a partner organization. For a movement called Unite Against Book bands. We've also partnered with the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val Kill on what's called the Bravery and Literature Award. The award ceremony for this year will be on October 11th at the Bar, Devan and Poughkeepsie, and it's going to be celebrating Margaret Atwood, author of The Hand Tale, uh, for a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Last year, we celebrated Judy Bloom for with a Lifetime Achievement Award. So. We think people have to lock arms in the defense of the [00:31:00] right to read, regardless of whether or not we're seeing a high level of censorship attempts in the Hudson Valley. I, and I do really think, Matt, that's one of the biggest things we need to do here is as a community kind of band together to defend those rights because it's more vulnerable people in our community who are seeing their lived experiences being censored, and that's not okay.

And I think if we're going to be a cohesive community and society moving forward, we all have to step up and defend that, right? Regardless of whether or not it's impacting our personal lives.

Mat: All right. How do you wanna leave it with the audience? What do you want us to do? We'll, we'll do anything for you.

Rebecca: Oh, nice. Well, I, I'll, I'll take it easy on you and just say, you know, have fun by going out there and visiting some of the libraries across the Hudson Valley. Participate in the road trip. I bet by the second or third library. You're gonna want a library card if you don't already have one. Yeah. And if you live up here, definitely get more involved with your local library.

Sign up for their newsletter, find out what's going on. I bet eventually you're gonna find a program you'd be interested in. And like I said earlier, your ability. To connect more people in your neighborhood with [00:32:00] what your library has to offer would make you a hero in their eyes. Um, so I'd say be a library fan, uh, and find more ways to do that.

That would be wonderful.

Mat: Yeah, I'll add challenge for the listeners is that if as you do this, you can follow the Mid Hudson library system on Instagram and, and if you follow me too, send photos, send, send cute photos of the different libraries that you go to. I assume you can take pictures on the inside and outside, right?

Yeah,

Rebecca: absolutely.

Mat: We

Rebecca: encourage it.

Mat: Yeah, just don't talk. Shh. You can, you can take a pic. You could take a picture and Mat, yeah, actually we

Rebecca: have a little feature of the road trip. It's called the artifact. We, as you go to each library, you don't just get a stamp on your map, you look for the artifact, which is the logo of the Hudson, that logo of the road trip, which is hidden somewhere in each library.

Mat: Oh, very cool. Okay. So find it.

Rebecca: Yep. Take a picture

Mat: and take a picture and send it to me. And I'll try to post this summer as I visit different libraries. Oh, that'd be great as well. And I'll tag, I'll tag it. Is that, is there a hashtag we should be using?

Rebecca: Yeah, it's hashtag. MH. Library Road trip.

Mat: MH. Library [00:33:00] Road trip.

Awesome.

Rebecca: All right.

Mat: Thanks for coming on.

Rebecca: Thank you, Mat. I really appreciate it.

Song: When you move to the country, they can tell when you're new to it.

I'm looking outta place but I keep trying to fit in. For now they I'm a cidiot, cidiot, cidiot