CARMEL, NY – Last night, Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne hosted his eighth and final “Talking in the Library: Open Books, Open Government” town-hall-style forum of the summer at Patterson Library. There was no registration required to attend the free hourlong event. “Talking in the Library” was a series of outreach events hosted by the county executive at each of the Putnam County Libraries Association member libraries during June and July.

Participants had the opportunity to ask questions about local and countywide issues and most sessions were recorded and uploaded to the county’s YouTube page. The latest round of constituent forums comes on the heels of “Trailblazing with Byrne" events hosted in each of Putnam County's six towns during the month of May. Prior to this, Byrne delivered his State of the County address to local audiences at each of the county’s four senior centers in April as well as a "Coffee with Kevin" town-hall-style stop at Dana’s Diner in Mahopac. All events were free and open to the public.

“Our libraries are trusted centers of learning and ladders to the middle class,” said Byrne. “I am grateful for their enthusiasm shown for our ‘Talking in the Library’ forums and I look forward to collaborating with them on future public outreach events.”

Putnam County libraries received a total investment of $505,042 from county government in fiscal year 2025, a 3.5% increase from the previous year.

Watch the full video from Patterson Public Library here: