History
The Blue Hills Branch, the youngest member of the branch family, is located in the northwest corner of the City of Hartford. It opened in April, 1949 as the result of direct requests of residents in the neighborhood. There had been a Blue Hills Branch as early as 1931 (at 641 Blue Hills Avenue) but the Depression caused its closing the following year. The branch was relocated in 1949 to 654 Blue Hills Avenue. Subsequently, it moved to 630 Blue Hills Avenue, and when that property burned in March 1973, it was moved to its current location at 655 Blue Hills Avenue.
Branch Facts
Size:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,425-sq. ft.
Holdings: . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,234 items
Public Access Computers: . . . . . . Four
Attendance: . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,792 visits per month
Circulation: . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,865 items borrowed per month
Program Attendance: . . . . . . . . 396 attending programs per month
Reference, Information &
Reader Services: . . . . . . . . . 2,040 questions answered per month
Population Served
Population: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,440
Census Tracts: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5038, 5039, 5040
School Age Youth: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,388
% of Free and Reduced School Lunches: . . . . . 87.2%
% of Adults with High School Education: . . . . 40%
% of Owner Occupied Housing: . . . . . . . . . 45.3%
% of Households with Access to Vehicles: . . . 82%
% of Single Headed Households with
Children Under 18 Years: . . . . . . . . . . 39%
Community Information
Blue Hills is a very stable residential neighborhood with one of the highest levels of owner occupied homeownership in the City of Hartford. There are ten educational institutions, eleven religious institutions, and one hundred fifty businesses that support family and community life in this northwest gateway to the Capital City of Connecticut. Keney Park, a new bus line to Buckland Mall, a new magnet school at the University of Hartford, the University of Hartford’s purchase of the old Thomas Cadillac building, the opening of a new North Hartford Senior Center, and the building of a new CVS Pharmacy Store at Branford and Blue Hills have boasted the spirits and aspirations of everyone living and working in the Blue Hills neighborhood. This recent progress adds to the already existing vibrant commercial strip of 0.3 miles along State Highway 187 (Blue Hills Avenue) which serves the local Blue Hills community.
The Blue Hills Civic Association, the Blue Hills Merchants Association, and the Blue Hills Revitalization Zone are working cooperatively to mobilize every resident and to leverage every community asset to make Blue Hills the most vibrant neighborhood in the City Of Hartford.
Community Relationships/Services
The Blue Hills Branch Library is within walking distance to St. Francis Hopital-Mount Sinai Campus, Burgdorf Health Clinic, Boys And Girls Club of Hartford, and many churches and businesses. The Blue Hills Branch Library is also within walking distance to the Bowles Park Housing Development, three schools, and the Senior Center.
A new and/or renovated building for the Blue Hills Branch Library has always been a dream and a wish for the Blue Hills neighborhood. Such a facility will support the twelve hundred active monthly Library visitors who come to the Blue Hills Branch Library for books, tapes, programs, compact diskettes, and family programs. Library staff have worked very closely with the Neighborhood Revitalization Zone Committee to craft the Blue Hills Neighborhood Revitalization Zone Strategic Plan. Staff at the Blue Hills Branch actively participate in activities of the Blue Hills Civic Association and the Blue Hills Merchant Association such as Blue Hills Family Day, RAMBUH Family Center, Mark Twain School annual Read-A-Thon, and the Block Watch Groups located on Burnham, Harold, Granby, and Coventry Streets. We have also participated in cooking and serving meals throughout Hartford to seniors, homeless and shut-ins during the holiday season. We have been actively involved the last two years in the Twenty-First Century Community Learning Center at Rawson Elementary School.
Noted Trends
Blue Hills has an estimated population of 10,440 persons with 87.3% African-American and/or Caribbean, 3% White, and 6.4% persons of Hispanic origin. The community remains a desirable family area, with its own commercial strip and stable owner-occupied housing. Twenty percent of the City’s single and two-family residential acreage is located in the Blue Hills neighborhood. The Blue Hills neighborhood continues to see an increase in the number of West Indian families moving to the area. New institutions such as the CVS, the North Hartford Senior Center, the University of Hartford Arts Campus, and the new University of Hartford Magnet School have encouraged homeowners, nonprofits, and planners to think strategically about everything in Blue Hills. This has increased awareness of the role of the Blue Hills Branch Library and the need for a larger facility.
Branch Initiatives
Branch Library staff in past years visited classrooms and day care classes. Family literacy programming has been emphasized the last three years to support early childhood education. The branch also participates in the homework center program.
The Blue Hills Branch Library has recently increased and made available more sources on Caribbean history and African American literature to serve the diverse population of Blue Hills. The Branch has increased the number of programs and events available for children ages three and eighteen. Three public computers have attracted approximately twelve hundred users per month. Blue Hills began circulation of videos during the 1994-95 fiscal year and has participated in voter registration since 1995. New videos, DVD’s and best sellers continue to be sought after items when customers visit the Library.
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