Connecticut's 184-Year-Old Library Weathers Economic Downturn
By Fiona Robinson | Online Only | Mar. 19, 2010
"Amidst all the hustle and bustle of the 21st century, the library is still there," says Rebecca McGaffin, librarian at the Young Men's Institute Library in New Haven, Conn. Founded in 1826 as a membership library and educational institution for New Haven residents, the Institute Library has been housed in a modest Victorian building in New Haven's downtown business district since 1876. It offers peaceful reading rooms and borrowing privileges (including book delivery) to its patrons, who pay a $25 annual membership fee but no late fees. In its heyday during the 19th century, the library attracted distinguished visitors such as Frederick Douglass, Charles Dickens, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
The Institute Library's lowest point came during the Great Depression, when it was forced to close for two years. The more recent economic downturn of 2008 weakened the library's endowment, forcing library administrators to seek new options for survival. In November 2008, the library had to close on Fridays; today it's open just three days a week for four hours.
Thanks to a recent redirection of its investments, the library's endowment has seen a 35 percent increase over the past 18 months, says Gregory Pepe, chairman of the board of directors. With the help of volunteers and a growing community of downtown New Haven residents, Pepe says he is "guardedly optimistic" about the library's current outlook. "We still need the help and support of our members to get our endowment to a level that is safe, and keeps the library on a solid footing," Pepe said in an e-mail.
Those who venture into the library through a tiny entryway on Chapel Street climb a flight of stairs and escape into another era. Besides a friendly welcome from the librarian, only the hiss of radiators greets visitors who step in from the cold and noisy street below. Instead of a block of computers, the library retains wood card catalogs, handsome leather armchairs, plants, and books, all in immaculate condition.
The Institute Library is "a time capsule," says MaryAnn Ott, associate director of New Haven's NewAlliance Foundation. "It's a place where people can have the sort of experience in library that [they] haven't had since [they] were 10 years old. … [It's] a jewel, an absolute treasure in our community."
In its 184th year, the Young Men's Institute Library is seeking to step out of the shadows and into New Haven's spotlight as a valuable and time-tested community resource. Members and administration alike are determined to look for every opportunity to reinvigorate their beloved institution, refusing to consider leaving the stately building that the library has occupied for more than a century.
After all, Pepe says, "[We've] weathered all kinds of economic turmoil in the past."
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Comments
Submitted by Brian at: March 19, 2010
That's awesome about keeping the card catalogs.