History:
Camp Field Branch Library was established in 1916 and was originally known as the Alfred E. Burr Branch as it was located in a room in the Burr School. In 1929, the branch moved to Maple Avenue (where the former Hearth Stone Restaurant was located) and was named the Camp Field Branch. In 1937 the present building at the corner of Barker Street and Campfield Avenue was opened. The building was made possible through the gift of Mrs. James T. Goodwin, designed by J. Sage Goodwin, and was the first property owned by the Hartford Public Library. In September 13, 2001, the branch reopened after extensive renovations with added space for parking, public bathrooms and a staff work area, and much needed mechanical and technological improvements.
Branch Facts:
Size: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,500 sq. ft
Holdings: . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,409items
Public Access Computers: . . . . . Eight
Hours open: . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 hours per week.
Attendance: . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,050 visits per month
Circulation: . . . . . . . . . . . 5,322 items borrowed per month
Program attendance: . . . . . . . . 284 attending programs per month
Reference, Information
& Reader Services: . . . . . . . 3,522 questions answered per month
Population Served:
Total population: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,456
Census tracts: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5001-5002; 5023-5024; 5026-5027
School Age Youth: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,585
& of Free and reduced School lunches: . . . . 70%
% of Adults with High School Education: . . . 28 %
% of Owner Occupied Housing: . . . . . . . . . 26%
% of Households with Access to Vehicles: . . . 96%
% of Single Headed Households with
Children Under 18 Years: . . . . . . . . . . 39%
Community Information:
Business: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250+
Churches: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Educational Institutions: . . . . . . . . 8
Parks: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Community Relationships/Services:
Camp Field Branch Library figures prominently, together with St. Augustine Church and Barry Square Station Post Office, in the neighborhood strategic plan as one of the three pillars of revitalization. Branch staff works closely with Burr, M.D. Fox and Dwight schools by providing story hours or visit to the classroom. Our Children’s Librarian visits Head Start, M.D. Fox and Southside Community Service Day Care Centers regularly to provide story hours. Staff also participated at the first day of school events; serves on Burr School Improvement Team; Providing Library information at Parents Nights and First Day of School Celebration. Students from Naylor Elementary School, St. Augustine Catholic School, Greater Grace Christian School and Bulkeley High School also use the branch as resource for schoolwork or recreational reading.
Barry Square Neighborhood Team members are active in Neighborhood Revitalization Zone Committee; Problem Solving Committee; Blockwatch; Merchants Association and Comprehensive Community Partnership. Staff serves on the Board of MARG Revitalization Group; Southend KnightRiders Youth Center and Maple Avenue Merchants Association.
The Branch also participates at the annual Barry Square Block Party which attracts hundreds of people each year to celebrate the colors and sounds of the neighborhood. You would also see us at the Annual neighborhood fall and Spring Clean-ups; Annual H.A.R.T. Congress.
Noted Trends
There are about 26,460 people in the Barry Square/South End neighborhood. 46% of the households have income level less than $25,000. The ethnic composition of Barry Square/South End is 33% White, 15% African American and 52% Hispanic. There is a large and growing Eastern European (most notably Bosnian) population settled in the area. Real estate activities are picking up in the South End. To provide affordable housing for needy families, FDIC retrofitted an apartment building on Webster Street into 40 two or three bedroom units. The carefully selected tenants will put in sweat equity for the upkeep of the property. There are a lot less blighted and abandoned properties primarily due to the hard works of Maple Avenue NRZ and Barry Square Problem Solving Committee. Quite a few businesses took advantage of the low interest loan from South Hartford Initiatives (SHI) to improve the façade. The Quality of life issues and crime is at the center of community’s concerns.
Branch Initiatives
Camp Field Branch offers “Family Place”, “Parent and Child Workshop”, “Creating Readers”, and “Telling Passages” to support family literacy and cultural enrichment. “The American Place”, a program for new immigrants, will help attract untapped population in Barry Square area to the library. With the implementation of “The American Place”, the branch is open to the public till 10 p.m. five days a week to offer ESOL classes and other resources for learning English and preparation for citizenship. The Branch’s collection is augmented accordingly to support all the initiatives that foster learning, sharing and building life long curiosity for knowledge.
|
|
