Company Profile
Hartford Public Library
Company Overview
Hartford Public Library has gained national recognition in redefining the urban public library in the 21st century as an innovative and stimulating place where people can learn, discover and explore their interests through a rich array of resources.
Our mission is to provide free resources that inspire reading, guide learning and encourage individual exploration.
We serve the people of the City of Hartford, and are committed to providing an enriching environment for all to pursue their interests. We are a gateway for immigrants and refugees, an early literacy center for preschoolers, a Wi-Fi hotspot and business office for area workers, an exhibit space for artists, a technology resource for residents and visitors, a lender of books and other educational and entertaining materials, a training center for the development of new skills, the repository of Hartford’s history, and a gathering place for people to relax, explore, learn and grow. Hartford Public Library is a place like no other.
Company History
Hartford Public Library’s history spans more than 235 years. We can trace its very beginnings to the Library Company, formally organized in 1774. Started by a group of city leaders, its roster included Jonathan Brace, Jeremiah Wadsworth, Daniel Wadsworth, George Bull, Elisha Colt, Theodore Dwight, George Goodwin, Chauncey Goodrich, and Thomas Y. Seymour. The Library Company served as a subscription company and opened with some 700 books. The library’s Hartford History Center has the original 1797 catalog in its archive and holds more than half of the original 700 volumes. The Library Company flourished into the early 1800s. It 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 is today. Its first librarian was Solomon Porter, a Yale graduate and principal of the Grammar School.
In 1838, Henry Barnard, a distinguished educator, rallied a group of young men interested in providing a venue for lectures and debate. So began the Young Men’s Institute, later chartered as the Hartford Young Men’s Institute, a private association. The Hartford Young Men’s Institute invited Hartford Library Company subscribers to join with them, offering them lifetime memberships. Library Company members agreed and brought to the institute their collection, one that had blossomed from 700 books in 1774 to 3,000 volumes in 1838.
In 1843, 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, eventually sharing space with the fine arts gallery, the Watkinson Library, the Connecticut Historical Society and the Hartford Art School. 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.
Hartford Public Library sits a stone's throw from where the Library Company first began. From the Grammar School to the Wadsworth Atheneum, to the move to its modern facility at 500 Main Street in 1957 designed by Schutz and Goodwin, the 94,448 square foot building at 500 Main Street included modern reading and reference rooms. In 1998, to meet the fast growing needs of the community, the Library embarked on an ambitious 145,000 square foot expansion and renovation at a cost of over $42,000,000. It was completed in 2007. The Library, through all these wonderful growing pains, has had the support of the public. Hartford Public Library’s history continues to be distinguished by its service to the community and by the community’s enduring commitment to it.
Approximately two years ago the University of Connecticut (UCONN) decided to move its West Hartford Campus back to the City of Hartford with the vision of creating a Downtown Neighborhood Urban Campus. Hartford Public Library soon became part of that vision which has culminated in an agreement between the two intuitions.
The agreement includes a $4 million dollar renovation of Hartford Public Library’s Downtown location, which will embed the UCONN library and provide classroom space for both institutions. Construction is under way and should be completed by the summer of 2017.
Hartford Public Library is a 10 branch system including the main branch location.