Byrne Brings Back $25K For Patterson Library

Posted: November 30, 2022 in Education
Assemblyman Byrne at the Patterson Library with participants from the Assembly’s 2022 Summer Reading Challenge

Assemblyman Kevin Byrne (R, C – Mahopac) is pleased to report that Patterson Library has received an additional $25,000 in state aid secured by the Assemblyman through the State Education Department’s bullet aid program (E01075 passed the Assembly on 6/3/2022). Bullet aid grants are delivered to hundreds of libraries across New York through a program of targeted aid via state education funding. The funding will be used to support the Patterson Library’s efforts to upgrade various technologies and services throughout its building.

“Our public libraries are vital hubs of our communities and key to addressing the numerous learning gaps and educational deficits that exist. The beauty of our public library system is that our libraries serve everyone, regardless of age or anything else that may make us different as individuals. The Patterson Library has long provided fundamental services to its residents by serving as a central location to meet and socialize while expanding access to essential tools, training, and resources,” said Byrne. I thank all our public libraries for the work and services they provide. I know the Patterson Library will put this state aid to good use, reducing additional need for the district to rely on more property tax dollars to enhance its services.”

 “The Board of Trustees and staff of the Patterson Library are very honored to be the recipient of this $25,000 bullet aid grant from Assemblyman Kevin Byrne. We plan to use these funds to upgrade aging technology as well as to purchase new items to benefit our patrons. We currently have 15 older laptops that we use on a weekly basis for our teen program. These programs are essential in helping us attract this hard-to-reach audience to the library, and by participating in this type of program, teens strengthen their socialization and cooperation skills, improve reading and math skills, and can practice critical thinking,” said Patterson Library Director Stephanie Harrison. The laptops are also used for hands-on computer classes for adults where they learn skills to improve their job prospects, run their own business, or just keep up-to-date on current technology. Additionally, the grant funding will also support programming on technology-related topics to enable our patrons to use their devices and software more successfully. We also plan to use the funds for other technology to support our patrons, such as an easy-to-use touchscreen patron catalog to find materials more easily in the library, additional Wi-Fi hotspots, and items to be included in our Library of Things. We are so grateful that Assemblyman Byrne is such a good friend to libraries and appreciates all that libraries do to benefit everyone in our community.”

Since first elected to the New York State Assembly, Assemblyman Kevin Byrne has helped secure numerous grants amounting to over $100,000 in state bullet aid for various local public libraries in addition to other grants from the state’s library construction and other aid programs.

The above information was previously distributed and made public for immediate release by the Office of Assemblyman Kevin Byrne