Library Moving Away From its Traditional Role

In a world with Google at your fingertips, librarians are trying to keep people coming back to the library while the Internet keeps pulling them away.

At the , Director Mary Hogan is using her resources to focus on developing early childhood literacy, adding more community programming and helping expose residents to new technologies. She explained that the today’s libraries act as a new type of Town Square or .

“It is a place for people of all ages and backgrounds to seek help, connect with others and get access to information and services they need,” Hogan said. “Public libraries provide community-based facilities with knowledgeable staff that are typically open in evenings and on weekends, generating more than 1.5 billion visits each year.”

The goal of the library, which accounts for 1.4 percent of the , is to stay up-to-date while working within its current budget to expand on its programming, she said.

“With our resources, we are looking at expanding our offerings beyond the traditional,” Hogan said. “We are trying to move beyond [the perception that] we are just here to check out books.”

Programming

One of the focuses of the library is to add more cultural and educational programs each month.

Currently, one to two programs for adults along with several children events are offered each month. The library is trying to provide residents with a place where they can interact with their neighbors, staff and experts in certain fields.

“I think it is now, people are looking to connect with people and get a live person to ask a question to,” Hogan said.

The overall attendance at library programs is down when compared with other libraries in the state. The library averages about 58 visitors per hour, which is above the state average.

“We have put a focus on it,” Hogan said about programming. ,  and  are among the most popular events at Cora J. Belden Library, she added.

However, Hogan said many of the other state libraries are bigger than Cora J. Belden and can house more people. The staff are also looking to possibly hold events in other locations in town including the .

About five years ago, residents would barely attend library programs. However, Hogan feels that people now want to interact more with their neighbors and experts, which has led to increased attendance at library programs such as during the summer.

“, head of programming at the library) has done a great job of finding the educational and cultural programming that people want,” Hogan said.

Early Child Literacy

The Children’s Librarian Catherine Potter and her staff are focused on helping develop literacy among children, especially at an early age.

“We have an important role to get kids ready to read,” Hogan said. The one goal is to get children to read 500 books before kindergarten.

Hogan said children used to participate in reading groups at age three or four. Now, they attend story time as early as one month old. The early start helps children develop social skills and assists parents in modeling good reading behaviors.

Technology

Rocky Hill residents never need to enter the building to take advantage of the services being offered at the Cora J. Belden Library. The library offers an online program called , which features over 500 courses lead by instructors with assigned reading and quizzes. However, participants will not get college credit for the courses.

“There is a lot (of courses) for life long learning as well as pleasure,” Hogan said. “The program is an example of how we are beyond Google.”

The unemployed and participants of the  often use the program to build up their resumes. The program is also being marketed to families who home school their children.

Patrons often use the library because they do not own a computer, need to print a document or to use the Internet. The staff at the library encounters several people, especially senior citizens, who do not have email addresses or know how to use the Internet proficiently. The staff works with these people daily to help them use the computer and Internet better, Hogan said.

“We are not going to keep up with people’s technology, but we have to even the field,” she said.