The Hartford Public Library serves the city of Hartford, Connecticut, United States. The library's main branch is located at 500 Main Street in downtown Hartford. The nine branch locations are named Albany, Barbour, Blue Hills, Camp Field, Dwight, Goodwin, Mark Twain, Park and Ropkins. All branches feature free public access computers and free

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History

The Hartford Public Library began in 1774 as the Library Company, started by a group of city leaders. The founding members included

Jonathan Brace Jonathan Brace (November 12, 1754 – August 26, 1837) was an eighteenth-century American lawyer, politician and judge. He served as a United States Representative from Connecticut. Biography Brace was born in Harwinton in the Connecticut Col ...

, Jeremiah Wadsworth, Daniel Wadsworth, George Bull, Elisha Colt, Theodore Dwight, George Goodwin,

Chauncey Goodrich Chauncey Goodrich (October 20, 1759August 18, 1815) was an American lawyer and politician from Connecticut who represented that state in the United States Congress as both a senator (1807 to 1813) and a representative (1795 to 1801). Biogra ...

and Thomas Y. Seymour. The Library Company was a subscription company and opened with some 700 books. The Library Company changed its name to the Hartford Library Company in 1799 and met in the Grammar School House, once located where the east end of the

Municipal Building Municipal Building may refer to the following places: United States Arkansas * Crossett Municipal Building, Crossett, AR, listed on the NRHP in Arkansas * Municipal Building (El Dorado, Arkansas), El Dorado, AR, listed on the National Register o ...

(Hartford City Hall) is today. Its first librarian was Solomon Porter, a Yale graduate and principal of the Grammar School. In 1838, Hartford resident and the first United States Commissioner of Education Henry Barnard organized lectures and debates for young men and called this association the Hartford Young Men's Institute. They invited Hartford Library Company subscribers to join with them, offering them lifetime memberships. Library company members agreed and brought to the institute their collection numbering over 3,000 volumes. In 1842, Daniel Wadsworth offered the Young Men's Institute a stake in what he hoped would become the cultural center of Hartford. Members accepted and, in 1844, the Young Men's Institute moved into the new

Wadsworth Atheneum The Wadsworth Atheneum is an art museum in Hartford, Connecticut. The Wadsworth is noted for its collections of European Baroque art, ancient Egyptian and Classical bronzes, French and American Impressionist paintings, Hudson River School la ...

, eventually sharing space with the fine arts gallery, the Watkinson Library, The Connecticut Historical Society and the Hartford Art School. One of the Institute's most prominent librarians from 1846-1868, essayist Henry M. Bailey wrote in 1850 ''Thoughts in a Library'' about the mood there: "It is a stormy evening: the rain patters on the roof
and beats against the windows. All without is cold and
cheerless, all within is pleasant and cheerful..." In 1875, the Young Men's Institute hired Caroline Hewins as its head librarian. She was 29 years old. She held the position for 51 years, until her death in 1926. The institute's lecture series was well attended for a number of years. Guest lecturers included Oliver Wendell Holmes,

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and editor of the '' New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressman from New York, ...

, Dr.

Horace Bushnell Horace Bushnell (April 14, 1802February 17, 1876) was an American Congregational minister and theologian. Life Bushnell was born in the village of Bantam, township of Litchfield, Connecticut. He attended Yale College where he roomed with futur ...

, Rev.

Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. His r ...

Samuel Clemens Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has pr ...

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and

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a cham ...

. In the late 1870s the popularity of lecture series diminished. The institute noted: “We have a library, not an institute; its members are, at least half of them, ladies; and the men belonging are old as well as young; being therefore, not alone for the young, not alone for men, and not an institute but a library, it seemed time to call it by its right name.” In 1878, the private institution changed its name to the Hartford Library Association. By the late 19th century, the people of Hartford recognized the need for a free public library. An agreement was reached between Wadsworth Atheneum regarding property ownership. A request for funds went out to city residents so that the building could be modified with a new library wing added to the back of the original structure. Funds were also needed to pay for the ongoing maintenance of what was to become the new public literary. More than 2,000 people donated money to this project. Hartford native Junius Morgan pledged $100,000 from London; his son, J.P. Morgan, pledged $50,000 from New York; other large donors included Lucy Morgan Goodwin and her sons J.J. Goodwin and the Rev. Francis Goodwin; the Keney brothers; and, Hartford banker Roland Mather. Contributions were made by the employees of Colt's, Sigourney Tool, Case, Lockwood and Brainard Co., Atlantic Screw Works, and many other factories. School children contributed nickels and dimes. Within two years from the start of the campaign, the city raised an amazing $406,000. On September 15, 1892, with the city appropriating tax monies for free library service, the doors of the new public library opened. On the first day, 388 names were registered; by the tenth day, 2,160 names were entered. On May 3, 1893, by a special act of the general assembly, the library's name was formerly changed to the Hartford Public Library.

Modern era

The library today operates under the original charter granted to the Hartford Young Men's Institute of 1839. The majority of the library's operating cost now comes from the City of Hartford. In 1957, the Hartford Public Library moved from the Wadsworth Atheneum into a new building just two blocks away. Designed by Schutz and Goodwin, the building at 500 Main Street included modern reading and reference rooms. In 1998, to fully meet the needs of the public, the library embarked on an ambitious expansion and renovation at a cost of over $42 million. It was completed in 2007. The 21st century Hartford Public Library and its nine branches are state of the art, fully computerized.

Notable people

Directors

* Caroline Hewins, 1893–1926 * Patricia Berberich * Louise Blalock, 1994–2008 * Matthew K. Poland, 2009–2016 * Bridget Quinn-Carey, 2016–present

Notable staff

* Tracie D. Hall, former branch manager and current executive director of the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

* Spencer Shaw, former children's librarian in the 1940s and professor at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...

Hartford History Center

A unique feature of the Hartford Public Library is its Hartford History Center. It is the library's specialized collection focused on the story of Hartford: its history, its authors, architecture, photographs, pamphlets, periodicals, books, postcards, trade publications, city directories, prints, posters and memorabilia. The holdings in the Hartford History Center include: * The institutional archives of the Hartford Public Library * The archives of the City of Hartford, from 1619 forward. Described by the state archivist as the most complete city records anywhere in the country. *

Noah Webster Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5� ...

, the father of the American dictionary's personal pamphlet collection of 93 bound volumes with his notes and comments. * The

Hartford Times ''The Hartford Times'' was a daily afternoon newspaper serving the Hartford, Connecticut, community from 1817 to 1976. It was owned for decades by the Gannett Company which sold the financially struggling paper in 1973 to the owners of the ''New H ...

photographic collection 1950-1976 * The Tony Bonee photographic collection 1940-1999 * Only complete minutes and records of Hartford's Court of Common Council and Board of Aldermen, 1784–present. * The City Parks Collection, documenting the growth of the city park system from 1850. * Records, drawings of the Engineering Department, Public Works Department, and Hartford Housing Authority. * Marc-Yves Regis photographic record of Hartford's North End. * Hartford imprints, pamphlets, books, 1777–present. * Extensive postcard collection of Hartford, 19th-20th centuries. * Extensive poster collection of Hartford events, performances, happenings and works by Hartford artists.

References

External links

Hartford Public Library

2002 National Award for Museum and Library Service