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74 Hartford Business Journal • November 26, 2012 www.HartfordBusiness.com 500 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06103 | 860.695.6300 | www.hplct.org H artford Public Library's history goes back more than 235 years to an institu- tion known as the Library Company, which was started by a group of Hartford leaders with such venerable names as Wadsworth, Colt and Goodwin. As it grew in prominence and redefined its mission throughout the 19th century, the private institution hosted well-known lecturers of the time, including Oliver Wendell Holmes, Dr. Horace Bushnell, the Rev. Ward Beecher, Samuel Clemens and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Throughout its rich history, the library has remained ahead of the curve. By the late 1800s, under the leadership of a visionary woman named Caroline M. Hewins, the library recognized that it needed to be free, that it needed to serve children as well as adults, and that it had a special duty to serve the city's growing immigrant population. The library raised $406,000 to expand the library's presence inside the Wadsworth Atheneum. In 1893, the library was formally named the Hartford Public Library, and its nine branches were established in the years following, including one that opened in 1930 on the first floor of Mark Twain's famous home in Hartford. That branch is now located nearby inside Hartford Public High School. The main library moved to a modern facility on Main Street in Hartford — just down the street from the Atheneum — in 1957. In 1998, the library began a $42-mil- lion expansion and renovation plan that was completed in 2009. The new 21st cen- tury space includes study and computer areas for adults and students, a center where immigrants and new citizens can receive help and job counseling, and a museum with a large and unparalleled collection of books, documents, photo- graphs and objects related to more than three centuries of Hartford history. Natu- ralization ceremonies, parties, art open- ings, dance performances, Sunday after- noon jazz, movies, classes, and dozens of other activities dot each week's calendar. In 2002 the Library received the Nation- al Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nations' highest honor recognizing exceptional contributions of museums and libraries. In 2010, the Library was honored for its commitment to the democratic human- ity of the community by Librarians for Human Rights. In 2010 and 2011, Hartford Public Library was the only public library in the nation to receive federal grants for its work with New Americans from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Recently, the Library completed significant capacity building projects to offer its com- munity better access to educational programs, new technology services, and inspiring meeting spaces. In 2011, the Library opened its new 8,000 square foot Albany Branch. In 2012, the downtown Library opened a newly refurbished wing that included The Ameri- can Place, the Center for Contemporary Culture and the "Living Room," and also an expanded and renovated Dwight Branch. The Library welcomes 860,000 visitors per year. "Whether it's building 21st century job skills through CTWorks@HPL, a collaboration between Capital Workforce Partners and the Library, or through early and family literacy summer programs, the Library has become a place for quality public education for all ages," said Matthew K. Poland, the Library's chief executive officer and ninth leader of the institution since 1893. Due to challenges in funding, rising operating expenditures and growing community demands, the library continues to diversify its revenue streams through grants and indi- vidual and corporate giving. For example, One Big Summer Night, the library's annual gala, is now one of the most anticipated events on Hartford's social calendar raising nearly $130,000 in 2012. The gala has featured noted authors such as Wally Lamb, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, stars of MSNBC's Morning Joe, and most recently Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media group. Today the Library's online catalog and website make its holdings accessible to users wherever they are. The collection reflects the profoundly democratic and all- encompassing nature of the institution. With holdings in excess of a million, collec- tions range from venerable artifacts of our culture to popular materials that entertain and inform the everyday lives of a contemporary population. For more than a century, Hartford Public Library has been a source of knowledge for millions of users. As the Library looks forward, it will build on this legacy and focus on assuring a vibrant, essential, and democratic library system. We envision a system where people of all ages and backgrounds come together in energetic community spaces filled with books, ideas, services, and public programs that anchor our libraries as the cornerstone of civic life in Hartford. Active hubs of knowledge that incubate new ideas while bonding communities and neighborhoods together. Hartford Public Library is committed to creating the Library for the Future that Hartford citizens desperately need to navigate the new knowledge economy. A window into a place like no other, a world of opportunity. The library staff helped customer Patricia Zigler write her resume and post online to CareerBuilder and Craigslist. A few months later, one of her prospects came through and she's working now as a collection representative at Receivable Management Services. She can pay bills; have a place to live; and feel good about herself! Hartford Public Library A Proud Past, A Promising Future R e t R o s p e c t i v e Special advertiSing Section 20th Anniversary Issue Mila, one of Hartford Public Library's youngest customers holds her first Library card. Born to Read is one of a series of newly redesigned cards whose slogans were created by customers through Facebook and Twitter.