Letters

Sometimes I feel like I live in a parallel universe. It stumps me when someone sees something so different from my own perspective, and, as we all know, difference of opinions has exasperated over the last several years. I’ll be the first to say I may not always be right.

Thomas M. Jones stumped me today when I read his letter to the editor, “Stoking Fear,” in the October 7 issue. Talk about a parallel universe!

First and foremost, I want to thank the director, staff and board of the John Jermain Memorial Library for always putting the patrons’ safety first throughout this pandemic. Not knowing Mr. Jones’s background, I would disagree when he states that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines are “virtuous but untrue.” I don’t know about the other readers here, but I for one will listen to the CDC and not to him.

I am also going to assume he does not know how library budgets work and how money gets allocated. The employees deserve every penny they earn serving and enhancing our community. The services and programs offered to our community are fantastic. My family alone has utilized the library in so many ways other than just the lending of books. There is so much offered, and I wish that more people took advantage of it.

What “pretending” are you referring to, Mr. Jones? Even when the library doors were shut during the height of the pandemic, I was taking Zumba and yoga classes in my home that the library offered. The resilience to still serve the community was quite impressive to me.

If any of you don’t know what the library offers other than book lending, I implore you to explore all the services and programs. You will be amazed.

The last thing I want to address is Mr. Jones’s assessment that the library feels like a prison instead of a library, simply because we are being asked to wear a mask inside. My parallel universe to Mr. Jones’s is one of gratitude that the library wants to keep all patrons safe.

My universe does see the John Jermain Memorial Library as the ultimate beacon of strength for Sag Harbor.

Jennifer Glass

Sag Harbor