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: for events only
Sunday: Closed

While the Family Partnership Center is under construction, please return here for updates.

the back of a woman with a book reading to toddlers who are smiling

Bilingual Family Story Time
Fridays: 3 – 3:30 PM

Join us for stories, music, and crafts in English and Spanish. For families with children ages 1 to 5.

Waking Up for School is Cool by Jamai Leigh

Author Jamai Leigh
Saturday, November 16, 2024
11:00am – 12:00pm
Registration required, click here.

Join author Jamai Leigh as she reads and discusses her picture book, Waking Up for School is Cool, which was written because of the experiences her son had during his school years. School is where children begin their development and relationships with others outside of their homes. Having a child with a chronic illness and missing many days of school, whether home sick or hospital visits, was very saddening. There are times in life we take things for granted. This book celebrates the joy of being a child, feeling healthy, and thinking it’s so cool to go to school!

Pom-Pom Pine Cone Ornament

Saturday, December 14, 2024
11:00am – 12:00pm
Registration required, click here. 
Come create a pom-pom pine cone ornament for the holidays. Children ages 5-11.
Two children looking at a science beaker in awe

Discovery Science

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 grade 1-5.

Join us for coding with bots and learn some facts about the scientist Katherine Johnson.

Thursday, November 21, 2024
3:30pm – 4:30pm
Registration required, click here.

Thursday, December 19, 2024
3:30pm – 4:30pm
Registration required, click here.
Cute dinosaurs

DINOvember Scavenger Hunt
November 8 – December 31

Can you find all ten prehistoric pals hidden in SPD? No registration required – just grab a sheet! 

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