When Easton resident John Hamlin needed space to give a talk on solar panels, his first thought was his hometown public library.
“I was familiar with it from back when my kids went through Cub Scouts,” he said. “We had den meetings there. Size-wise, it seemed a good fit.”
Indeed, public libraries across Connecticut are evolving beyond their traditional role as book repositories — they’re becoming community hubs for local groups.
The Connecticut Library Association’s Statistical Trends in Connecticut Public Libraries for 2022-2023 found that library community room usage by local groups more than doubled in 2023, reaching 51,363 bookings.
“Generally, as a service to their communities, libraries allow community groups and non-profit organizations to use rooms for events,” said Dawn La Valle, director of the Division of Library Development for the Connecticut State Library. “It is a long-standing service to their communities to use the space to learn, create and share.”
Easton Library Director Lynn Zaffino knows first-hand this is the case. “There have been times when I’ve tried to book a library program and we need the community room, and it’s hard to find a night or time that it’s open.
“We have a lot of town agencies, and if they have a regular meeting for, say, the first Monday of the month, they will book for the whole year,” she said. “Generally, it’s booked months in advance although not every single time slot.”
The room is used by town boards, commissions and organizations as well as the Easton-Redding Backgammon Club, the National Charity League, music school recitals, and a group that trains K9 dogs. On occasion, it has even been used for birthday parties and memorial services.
In Fairfield, town librarian Scott Jarzombek reports on the use of its community room: “It’s exploded. Parking is a total nightmare.
“Study rooms have become incredibly busy for libraries that have them,” he said. “We have seven, and they are constantly booked. The larger ones are used for small meetings. High school and college students use the smaller ones for two hours during the day. They’ve become like a co-work space, where people come in to do Zoom calls. We’re booked during finals and mid-terms 24 hours in advance. It’s been fascinating to watch that evolve.”
On the other hand, there is the behind-the-scenes work that has to take place to maintain those spaces.
“People fail to realize spaces need to be maintained and staffed,” said Jarzombek. “Do we have a custodian at that time? Is a staff member available to assist getting the room open? It worries me. It’s a tough budget year.”
At a recent and potentially contentious United Illuminating public comment session at the library, Jarzombek said he pretended to be security to make sure order would be maintained. In addition, he noted, “We had a children’s program earlier, and I had to vacuum up the glitter.”
Over in Bridgeport, however, the problem is not so dire. Reference librarian Adam Cleri said the library’s high-volume times are every Saturday, and Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 8 p.m., which are being booked three to four weeks in advance.
“Every other time is a ghost town, just a few here and there,” said Cleri. “People want after-work shifts. And weekends.” Regular users include craft programs, after-school programs for the middle and high schools and Bible study.
Back in Easton, Hamlin said that when he called to book the community room last fall, there was a scheduling conflict. “They were doing their book fair that weekend and didn’t have a block on the time they needed to set up for it.”
He had turned to the library because he supports local venues. But the Easton Community Center, which waived its usual fee for the Teen Center room because Hamlin has been such a supporter, did accommodate him.
About his hometown library community room, Hamlin said, “I didn’t realize how competitive it was.”
From FCN partner Easton Courier.
