Local Libraries: More Important Than Ever
by Evelyn Bartin

To highlight the vital role libraries play in our communities, AboutTown continues its series of portraits of each of the village and town libraries in our area.

Starr Library
Starr Library, the oldest library in the Mid-Hudson system, has been serving the Rhinebeck community since 1862. Originally housed in the Starr Institute building on Montgomery Street, the library moved to West Market Street in the 1970s. By 2005 it had outgrown its original quarters there and expanded into new space at the same location.

The library’s director, Steven Cook, prides himself particularly on recent strides Starr has taken. “Especially in these difficult economic times,” says Cook, “we like to think of Starr Library as a community resource.” And indeed, evidence of the active role Starr plays in people’s lives is everywhere you look: there are 11 computer stations connected to the building’s wireless (WiFi) network for internet research; the library is the meeting place for organizations, clubs and support groups such as the Rhinebeck Historical Society, Parkinson’s Support Group, and Holistic Moms, to name a few; and Starr Library is a drop-spot for food collection for neighbors who are in need. The library also helps home schoolers; works actively with the Dutchess County Office for the Aging; and is the meeting place for the Rhinebeck Science Foundation. According to Cook, “We’re a great place for groups to meet that are too big for someone’s living room.”

And, of course, there are thousands and thousands of books—in fact, Starr houses one of the more significant book collections in the Mid-Hudson system, including specialized collections focused on music, cooking and aviation (the last donated in honor of the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome). And if physically taking out a book or CD feels too “old school” for you, Cook says that this March, Starr, along with each of the other Mid-Hudson libraries, is hoping to have ready a new service that will allow library cardholders to download audiobooks onto their iPods. Then, if you’d like to discuss what you’ve read or listened to on your earbuds, you can join Starr’s book discussion group that meets the last Monday of each month at 7:00 downstairs in the Mary Frazer Room. All are welcome.

The library is also the base location for Town Historian Nancy Arthur Kelly’s collection of books; and the repository of many local historical documents. Several, such as the local DAR volumes and maps, date back centuries. The Local History Room is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm; help is available for both genealogical and historical research. Come visit and take advantage of all Starr has to offer.

68 West Market Street, Rhinebeck 12572 (845-876-4030), www.starrlibrary.org

Morton Memorial Library and Community House
A visit to Morton quickly reveals how much it values its place in the local community and, how much it is valued in return. Yes, of course, Morton has books. And yes, Morton has computer stations. But it is the warm, homey feel of Morton that strikes you most of all. As the library’s director, Joanne Meyer, says, “We’re more a living room than a library. Kids feel like they’re coming to their own mansion.”

Morton is located in the heart of the hamlet of Rhinecliff, just south of the train station. The building was erected by Anna L. and Levi P. Morton in memory of their daughter Lena, and was dedicated in 1908 to the use of the people of Rhinecliff. It enjoys the status of being on both the State and National Registers of Historical Places.

As you climb the steep, old stairs and enter the building, you’ll find the cozy Morton Library on the left and Morton Hall, the adjacent and more impressive space, on the right. Though different in scale, both feel warm and inviting as they pull you in with their high ceilings and smell of old wood. And though the spaces serve different functions, the library and hall are well-integrated parts of the greater whole.

The facility is staffed by Meyer and only one other person, and just about everyone who walks in is personally acknowledged, usually by first name. If you don’t find the book (or DVD or CD) in the collection on premises—an “interesting, eclectic collection of about 17,000 items,” as Meyer describes it—Morton can probably get it for you in lickity-split time. Among the items at Morton that Meyer does mention are collections of local and river history, railroad history, the performing arts, and psychology. The library is in the process of renovating the downstairs area to increase its capacity for both books and areas for meetings and gatherings.

Adjacent Morton Hall is used for community events. When I visited, there was an exhibit of the banners designed and created for the Walkway Over the Hudson Quadricentennial Celebration, soon to be replaced by a new art exhibit. Theater performances, civic meetings, classes, workshops, and myriad other kid and adult community events regularly take place in the hall. On the third Friday of each month the hall particularly boasts an acoustic music performance. Since Morton was built over a century ago, there is no parking lot. So if you arrive for an event, be prepared to park on a nearby street and walk a short block or two.

Though the floors creak and the library is relatively small, Meyer is a fan of 21st century technology. As she says, “Morton may be an older building, but it is a wider portal to the modern world.”

82 Kelly Street, Rhinecliff 12574, (845-876-2903), www.morton.rhinecliff.lib.ny.us.