Connecticut Libraries Celebrate Connecticut Libraries

National Library Week, first observed in 1958, is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. All types of libraries – school, public, academic and special – participate.  In Connecticut, National Library Week is being marked by a month-long initiative, the Passport to Connecticut Libraries program.

Nearly 140 Connecticut libraries are involved, inviting people to visit participating Connecticut public libraries across the state. Each library has its own architecture, vibe, and collection to explore and browse, officials explain. The program is open to adults and children, and the hope is that it encourages residents to explore the amazing diversity of our public libraries.

To begin, residents are asked to visit their local participating library to pick up a Passport. They will stamp it and provide a token gift to get you started. Then, you can take your Passport along as you visit other participating libraries. At each visit, you must show your library card, and then the library will stamp your passport and give you another small gift.

The theme of National Library Week 2022 is “Connect with Your Library” developed to promote the idea that libraries are places to get connected to technology by using broadband, computers, and other resources. Officials remind everyone that the library card opens the world through physical books, audiobooks, music CDs, DVDs—as well as downloadable or streaming version of the same products. 

Individuals who visit at least five participating libraries and return their passport to a participating library by May 6, 2022, will be entered into one state-wide drawing for a chance to win a $150 Visa gift card for adults (18 and up) and a $100 Visa gift card for children (under 18).

This is a state-wide contest where four winners will be selected: one adult and one child from a random drawing from all who visited at least five libraries, and one adult and one child from a random drawing from all who visited the most libraries.

In addition, some libraries are also offering special programming and contests during the month. 

The Greater Danbury Area Libraries are presenting the Check Us All Out Challenge! happening now through May 3, 2022.  The aim is to encourage library card holders to learn about some of the unique features of neighboring libraries in the Danbury region.  Individuals who choose to participate collect clues in person or online to complete a puzzle and earn a chance to win a special prize. There is one winner per library.  Participating area libraries include: Bethel Public Library, C.H. Booth Library, Danbury Public Library, Mark Twain Library, New Fairfield Public Library, New Milford Public Library (only online), Ridgefield Library, and Sherman Library.

In the midst of library week, the Hartford Public Library made a major announcement regarding expansion plans. A partnership between Hartford Public Library and Community Solutions was awarded a $3.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to build a state-of-the-art job training center that will be co-located with a full-service library branch at the historic Swift Factory in North Hartford. 

“These federal funds are crucial to achieving our goal of creating a space where North Hartford residents of all ages can have access to life-changing educational and job training opportunities,” said Hartford Public Library President and CEO Bridget E. Quinn.

The facility will include an intake office, two 25-seat classrooms, a 1,400-square-foot fully networked computer lab and a light manufacturing simulation lab, in addition to a full-service library that will replace the existing location on nearby Barbour Street. A plethora of services will be offered to North Hartford residents to serve as a multigenerational hub for education, career training and skills building, according to officials who gathered for the announcement this week.

April is a significant month for the American printed word. In 1800, the Library of Congress was founded, and mid-month in 1828, Noah Webster copyrighted the first dictionary of American English. Today, there are an estimated 117,000 libraries across the country.  State and local libraries employ 91,500 people full time and 93,000 part-time.

From the original 1958 proclamation: “Let National Library Week be a time for the appraisal of community needs for library services and of the means for meeting them, for encouraging the development of a better-read, better-informed citizenry, and for rededication to that fine public service that has always been characteristic of the libraries of America.”