It was a surprise to find the Hudson Area Library looking like a deChirico painting with its classic architectural and sculptural elements, trains looming in the distance. Unfortunately it was a bit disheartening to see the library in such dire need of renovation. I am a firm believer in the public library system. With open access to books, anyone in our country can educate him or herself as long as they put in the time and effort to do so-- isn't that the American Dream after all? The public library is where I first discovered art history when I was twelve, as I sat at the long tables in the reference area memorizing paintings and quizzing myself in identifying the different artists. It is where I held my first official job, shelving books, discovering the vast history of literature, sneaking a chapter here and there. It is where I take the kids now to feed their appetite for new books and to encourage another generation to love reading. Restoring an old library to its former luster is a worthy project, not just in terms of the architecture, but in terms of the community's future intellectual growth. Hopefully Hudson will undertake such an endeavor.
1 comment:
I love a good surrealist painter on a saoking wet Long Island afternoon
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