The Hartford Public Library
The Library was founded in 1774 as The Librarian Company by a few subscribers to purchase a "collection of useful and religious books". In 1838, in harmony with the movement towards lyceums and literary culture that was spreading across the country, a new organization, The Hartford Library Association, with taxpayer support, opened to the public. The name was officially changed to the Hartford Public Library by a special act of the Connecticut General Assembly on May 9, 1893. The Library was located at the Wadsworth Atheneum from 1844 to early 1957. On January 2, 1957, a new building opened at the present site. By 1996 it was very clear that a renovated and expanded Library was necessary, and that same year a $19 million city bond issue was approved by the voters of Hartford. Another $18 million was also approved by the Hartford citizens in 2000, and the Library is raising $5 million in a capital campaign to complete the project. The renovation and expansion of the Central Library will take the Library into the 21st century fully equipped to serve the citizens of Hartford, and indeed, the entire greater Hartford region.
