Parent reading a book to her child at the new Sadie Peterson Delaney African Roots Library

Sadie Peterson Delaney African Roots Branch Library

Library Hours:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 9 AM – 5 PM
Tuesday, Thursday: 1 PM – 5 PM
Saturday: Event days only (10 AM – 2 PM)
Sunday: Closed

Free parking for the Family Partnership Center:

Family Partnership Parking as of August 13 2025

Happenings at Sadie Peterson Delaney African Roots Branch Library:

Pioneering Black Librarians

Library Card Sign-up Month Special Exhibit: Pioneering Black Librarians
Throughout September 2025

This exhibit highlights twelve librarians from the Handbook of Black Librarianship, which is a “collection of essays on librarianship, library services, library history, library science education, library associations, innovations, collaborations, and collections in the Black/African Diaspora.” Learn about each librarian’s contribution to the history of the field.

Two children looking at a science beaker in awe

Discovery Science

Thursday, September 18, 3:30pm–4:30pm
Registration required; click here.
Thursday, October 16, 3:30pm–4:30pm
Registration required; click here.
Every month, the Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum will be visiting the Sadie Peterson Delaney Library branch to create some amazing science experiments and talk about important people in the science world that not everyone has heard about. For kids ages 1-5.
Musician B.E. Farrow

Music of B.E. Farrow

Saturday, October 25, 2:00pm–3:00pm
Registration required; click here. 
B.E. Farrow is an educator, songwriter, independent researcher, and musician travelin’ with the blues of his own life. From what he finds on his archival missions, Farrow reshapes and reflects America’s musical history through sharing stories, creative musical expression, and inclusive dialog. He plays the country blues with a future/past intuition that you can catch in the present if you come listen.

Colonial Period Silhouette Workshop

Monday, October 27, 5:30pm–7:00pm
Registration required; click here.
During the Colonial period, cut paper portraits were an affordable way to obtain a picture of you or your loved one. In this workshop, we will look at artists and examples of works from the period and beyond, and then create our own using modern technology and scissors. Ages 16 and up. Registration required.
Illustration of a happy pumpkin

Halloween at Family Partnership Center

Friday, October 31, 3:00pm–5:00pm
No registration required.
Please stop by SPD on the second floor of the Family Partnership Center for big fun on Halloween. There will be treats, games, and activities for the whole family to enjoy. Bring the family and trick or treat with us from 3-5 pm. Costumes encouraged!

https://poughkeepsie.librarycalendar.com/event/halloween-family-partnership-center-11631https://poughkeepsie.librarycalendar.com/event/halloween-family-partnership-center-11631Please stop by SPD on the second floor of the Family Partnership Center for big fun on Halloween. There will be treats, games, and activities for the whole family to enjoy. Bring the family and trick or treat with us from 3-5 pm. Costumes encouraged! No registration required.

About Sadie Peterson Delaney African Roots Branch Library:

The Family Partnership Center building was formerly Poughkeepsie High School and later Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic High School. The library occupies the same space that housed the schools’ libraries. The branch will have a particular focus on early literacy as an important developmental step for children. The original African Roots Library collection that occupied this space is curated through a partnership between the Library Action Committee and the Poughkeepsie Public Library District.

The branch is named in honor of Sadie Peterson Delaney, who attended Poughkeepsie High School and was active in the Smith Metropolitan AME Zion Church. She went on to serve as Chief Librarian at the Veterans Administration Hospital Library in Tuskegee, Alabama, where her work in Bibliotherapy received international attention.

Learn more about Sadie Peterson Delaney via our Local History Blog or by visiting Dutchess County Historical Society‘s recording program about Sadie P. Delaney.

Sadie Peterson Delaney at her desk with a sign that reads "Books break the tedious hospital hours and minimize illness". Image courtesy of Tuskegee University Archives