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On Friday, June 15, a crowd of state officials, local dignitaries, McEneny family members, and library patrons gathered at the Guilderland Public Library to dedicate the library’s Community Literary Garden Amphitheater to the memory of Barbara Rachel Leonard McEneny, a lifelong patron of libraries and late wife of Assemblymember Jack McEneny. Among those in attendance at the dedication were State Assembly Majority Leader Ronald Canestrari, State Senator Neil D. Breslin, Albany County District Attorney David Soares, Albany County Comptroller Michael F. Conners, II, and Albany County Democratic Committee Co-Chair David Bosworth. The president of the Library Board of Trustees, Robert Ganz, opened the ceremony by remarking to the crowd of more than 75 attendees that Mrs. McEneny had “an abiding affection for libraries. Her lifelong love of books and of reading was so strong that even those who met her only casually had a sense of it, and it was an ever-present aspect in the lives of her four children. “As I struggled about what to say at this dedication… I did what any modern user of a library would do: I accessed one of the library’s databases for quotations, utilizing these themes as they related to libraries. I found some words with which I believe Barbara would concur: President Kennedy said at the dedication of the Robert Frost Library: ‘If more politicians knew poetry and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world would be a little better place to live.’” Before asking Assemblymember McEneny to say a few words, Mr. Ganz noted, “2007 is the 50th Anniversary year of the Guilderland Library. We are blessed to have this beautiful building, now enhanced by a magnificent literary garden that was provided through a grant made possible through Assemblyman McEneny’s efforts.” In marking the occasion, Assemblyperson McEneny said “if there were ever a public monument to Barbara, she would want it in a library. She had such a love of learning, she was so inquisitive, and she had such a love of books…. The entire family is so honored by this.” Members of the McEneny family then unveiled the plaque. Notice Date: Contact:
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