If you ask the average American what they think about public libraries, there’s a high probability that the answer you’ll receive will have something to do with the idea that libraries throughout the country are dying.
It’s true that there has been a decline in both the number of in-person visits and the usage of libraries’ physical collections. From its peak year of 2009, library visitations across the country have declined by more than 20%, while the decrease in borrowing books was just shy of 20%, a report by WordsRated, an international research and data analytics group, said.
The report surveyed 17,500 libraries across the country and while the data found a clear decline, the Hamden Public Library system seems to be the exception.
Hamden boasts a population of 60,923 residents as of 2022. During that same fiscal year, the Hamden Public Library saw more than 35,000 visitors – double the amount of registered borrows, data from the Connecticut State Library revealed.
Throughout 2023, the library’s popularity has been no different, pulling in visitors from across the state.
“I actually don’t live in Hamden; my boyfriend lives here,” said Taylor, a young woman in her 20s who was visiting the library for the first time. “I haven’t been here that long, like not even 30 minutes, but I’ve talked to two employees and they’ve been super helpful. I think it’s good that they’re keeping up the library here.”
While Taylor may not be a frequent flier at the library — though she’s quick to mention that she would definitely come back — her assessment couldn’t be more spot on.
“People often talk about first responders, and that’s the police department, the fire department…” said Melissa Canham-Clyne, the director of the Hamden Public Library for the past three years. “We are second responders.
“We’re not necessarily going to be there at somebody’s house when they’re in a crisis, but we are going to be the organization that is there for them as they endure the crisis. And that’s what a community anchor does.”
The term “community anchor” is an important one. It serves to drive the library’s ever-evolving mission and goals.
The mission starts in the brick-and-mortar locations that are sprinkled throughout town. The Miller Memorial Library, the Brundage Community Branch Library and the Whitneyville Library make up the organization that is known as the Hamden Public Library.
The Miller Memorial Library is generally what pops into people’s mind when they think of the town public library.
The large, multi-story brick building sits at 2901 Dixwell Ave., one of the busiest streets that runs through Hamden, near the middle school and across the street from key town government buildings.
It is a hard spot to miss – directly across from the sprawling police station and adjacent to the town center park. Its parking lot is generally full and its front doors are constantly sliding open as patrons of all ages leave with books balanced in their arms.
The Brundage Community Branch Library is a nine-minute drive down the road from Miller, and boasts a smaller building, but a more tailored purpose.
Just like any library, it’s stocked with books, but the Brundage Branch is often thought of as a teaching tool. Whether it’s teaching residents how to create their own rain gardens and barrels — eco-friendly processes that are used to utilize rainwater and reduce runoff — or students taking advantage of the space for a tutoring session, learning is abundant at the Circular Avenue location.
The smallest of the three libraries is the Whitneyville branch on Putnam Avenue.
Among the normal library offerings, the branch boasts a specialized homeschooling collection. Born from the needs of the surrounding community, the special collection is one of many examples of the library adapting to the desires of the patrons who visit it.
“That grew out of the community in the Whitneyville area saying, ‘We do homeschool and we need supplies for that. What can you do for us?’” Canham-Clyne said.
The needs of patrons — and the greater Hamden community as a whole — have been specifically used to develop on-going projects and services since the COVID-19 pandemic through the community needs assessment.
The data collection project, which started in the fall of 2021 and continued throughout the winter of 2022, included more than 22 conversations throughout the community in order to figure out what the library needed to offer to meet citizens’ needs.
Those surveyed included not just adults, but third through eighth grade students at the Hamden public schools.
“The way we approached it was, ‘What do you love about living in Hamden? What do you hope for the future of Hamden?’” Canham-Clyne said. “And from that, we can see where the library worked in their aspirations for a better Hamden.”
That better Hamden includes Jennifer “Jenny” Nicolelli, Hamden’s first teen librarian who started in March of 2023. The community needs assessment found that middle- and high-school-age children in Hamden needed a safe place to go to, and thanks to the efforts of the library and Nicolelli, they now have it.
“Libraries live and die by if the teens feel safe and welcome in the teen space because it’s what keeps them coming back,” Nicolelli said.
“We have a lot of middle schoolers because we’re right in walking distance of the middle school. They’re at such an age where if there’s a negative experience, it can just turn them away forever. I have to be really conscious about their feelings and who they are and what they respond to,” she said.
The programs offered to teens are ever expanding, and often come from a joint effort of both Nicolelli and the teens she works with.
Looser activities like the daily open space in the Teen Center allow for free time and chatter, while tailored programs, such as Semi-Silent Book Club and themed crafts, allow for patrons to form bonds with Nicolelli and each other.
These bonds between patrons — of all ages — and library staff are at the core of the Hamden Public Library’s popularity.
The programs and services offered are uniquely created to serve the community where they’re at.
“I think there’s a misconception that maybe all we do is help with printers now, but that’s also really important,” Nicolleli said.
That being said, the Digital Navigation program is, in fact, quite popular.
The program — which is run three times a week and is also offered in Spanish — is designed to help people with no or very little technology experience learn how to use digital tools, like laptops and printers, that they may need to utilize in their everyday life.
The program started with a $100,000 grant from the state in 2021.
“With the grant money, they are able to pay the Digital Navigators, as well as provide technology devices to individuals in our community. They have handed out 100 laptops now, free of charge,” Hamden mayor Lauren Garrett said.
Many of Hamden’s senior citizens and those living below the poverty line benefit from the program.
“If you are reliant on state or federal services, I can’t even express how hard it is to maintain access to those services,” Nicolelli said.
“Making copies after copies of social security cards, or different forms, it’s not meaningless. It’s getting people food assistance, or rental assistance, or energy assistance or getting their kids more help in school, and helping people maintain their Section-8 housing status.”
Hamden has a 147 Adjusted Equalized Net Grand List Per Capita ranking out of 169 Connecticut towns. The AENGLC ranking is updated yearly by the Connecticut State Department of Education and measures average city or town wealth.
Garrett’s administration has allocated funds to the town library since her initial election, providing precious dollars to the library’s $2.35 million 2022-2023 budget.
While that’s a moderately small number for a town-supported organization, the library’s budget is slightly bigger than most of the other libraries across the state of similar size.
“You would think it would be less important now than 25 years ago,” said Nolan Bass, a Hamden resident of eight years and a frequent visitor of the library. “But as far as the community, the population of people I see coming through the library, it hasn’t decreased at all. It appears more people come to the library now than ever. It’s a big deal. It’s as significant as school and church.”
Making the library simpler has also helped bring citizens in. One of the most obvious hurdles to dismantle was late fees. Canham-Clyne was inspired to eliminate late fees when remembering her own school librarian yelling at her for owing a dime, causing her to never return.
Providing a warm space with access to bathrooms and a variety of help for people who need a place to go before shelters open, there is no shortage of services the library provides outside of the books on its shelves.
And for the community and the staff, that’s what makes the place so special.
“It’s so exciting to be part of a town that really wants the library to be involved in things,” Canham-Clyne said. “I’m just so grateful for that.”