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May 8, 2019

NHFPL earns national service honor

PHOTO | New Haven Biz The main Ives branch of the New Haven Free Public Library.

The New Haven Free Public Library has been named one of 10 recipients of the 2019 National Medal for Museum and Library Service.

Announced Tuesday morning, the honor, conferred by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS), is the nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities.

As part of the award, the library will receive $5,000 to enhance programming. In addition, this summer, the IMLS’ StoryCorps will visit New Haven to capture stories from the community to preserve at the American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress.

Selected from 30 national finalists, the IMLS winners represent institutions that provide dynamic programming and services that exceed expected levels of service, according to the group. Through their community outreach, these institutions bring about change that touches the lives of individuals and helps communities thrive.

The New Haven library was nominated for the honor by U.S. Sen. Christopher Murphy, who wrote that "NHFPL goes above and beyond in terms of community involvement, in both the quantity and quality of its programming. In the 21st century, patrons require more and different things from their libraries than they once did. NHFPL has fully embraced this reality and established itself as an indispensable hub of culture and innovation.”

“We are thrilled to receive this award, which honors our 132-year legacy and early attributes that still ring true today: a welcoming front door for all, a fighting spirit to serve as the people’s university, a catalyst for civic improvement, a drive to innovate tempered by fiscal restraint, and a love of humanity,” said City Librarian Martha Brogan of the IMLS honor.

In recent years the New Haven library in particular has augmented its offerings to the small-business community. Those include the opening of Ives Squared, a high-tech innovation commons and café that opened on the library’s ground floor a year ago. In addition, the library’s Tinker Lab earlier this year opened as a “makerspace” to help a wide range of innovative projects transition from idea to execution.

The NHFPL “provides a socially inclusive, trusted ‘third place’ that fosters a culture of innovation and promotes an entrepreneurial mindset by connecting residents with the people, tools, and resources to advance their ideas,” said Brogan. “We see this space as a way to activate the community and introduce people to new ways of working, attuned with the 21st-century economy.”

The award will be presented at a June 12 ceremony in Washington, D.C.

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