After a year of construction and anticipation, Newburgh Free Library administrators, staff and community supporters gathered on Thursday, April 27 and celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony the official grand opening of two new community spaces, the Local History Resource Center and the Tech Hub now fully available to the Newburgh community and beyond.

A blend of the past, present and future, the library now features the Local History Resource Center which offers community members the opportunity to review and discover historical records while the Tech Hub offers the ability to enhance technology skills with additional workforce development. The library was also the recipient of a $250,000 Consolidated Funding Application from the New York State Department of Labor which meant that for a year, the Tech Hub will offer free technology classes at no cost to all levels of students within the community.

Library Executive Director Mary Lou Carolan welcomed community members, elected officials and representatives, members of the Newburgh Board of Education and other supporters of the library. The opening of these new spaces also fell within the celebration of National Library Week and to help begin the ceremony, Horizons-on-the-Hudson student Jai’da Chambers shared her poem, Newburgh Is, to the gathered crowd, highlighting what makes Newburgh great.

“This celebration of libraries comes at a really critical time when our institutions and our foundational beliefs are being challenged on every level. As library staff, we value our role as purveyors of free speech in our society. We uphold the First Amendment of the Constitution, and we believe in access and opportunity for all,” said Carolan. “Our work is to educate and promote information and digital literacy. Opening doors to critical thinking creates a knowledgeable and productive citizenry. We honor our past, our stories through our new local history resource center, and we prepare for our future with our new technology hub.”

Carolan also took the opportunity to thank representatives from the various construction and architectural firms that helped plan and make this space a reality for the library. Carolan also mentioned that the library is working with community members to collect and archive oral histories and testimonies that can be accessed by the community as well.

Grace Riario, Executive Director of the Catskill Library System, also shared several remarks and highlights of the library. The Newburgh library within the Catskill Library System is recognized as the central library out of the total 47 that are supported by the state. For the Newburgh library, it received $291,000 in aid to help make these spaces possible.

“This library is supposed to be the example of the other 46 libraries. We need to thank the legislators, they’re here, because if it wasn’t for them, libraries would not be receiving any state aid funding for construction at all,” said Riario. “Every year, they fight for us to get some money.”

Riario also took the opportunity to reflect on censorship and the other challenges libraries have faced in recent times. “It is a privilege to be able to walk in a room and pick up whatever book you want, go to any class you want, look at the history of your community, it is a privilege. So we will not allow that privilege to be silenced,” said Riario.

Ben Gocker, Assistant Director of the library, recently joined the staff and shared his enthusiasm for the opening of the space and the opportunities it will now offer to community members. Gocker has over 15 years of experience working within the public library system. “I think this is just the beginning of our first step into the future for the Newburgh Free Library in terms of services we’ll offer. The public library really is the house of the people,” said Gocker. “It’s cliche, but knowledge is power. If you know where you’re coming from, you’ll know where you’re going. Newburgh is an incredibly unique community, and the staff here at the library reflects that.”

As the ceremony continued, members of the Tech Hub class shared their experiences with the group and also thanked the community for the support of the programs. A proclamation from Senator Rob Rolison was also presented to Carolan and a presented $30,000 check from Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson will also help support the technology hub. Members enjoyed refreshments and browsed the historical records and also viewed yearbook photos of some community members as the celebration concluded.