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Blackstone Memorial Library: A Father's Legacy
By Unknown
Posted: 2020-01-18T15:52:00Z

Built in honor of James Blackstone, a prominent Branford (CT) resident, the James Blackstone Memorial Library was dedicated on June 17, 1896. The library’s construction was funded by James’ son, Timothy Beach Blackstone, who was the president of the Chicago & Alton Railroad from 1864-1899. In addition to the $300,000 cost of the building, Timothy gave an endowment of $300,000 and a collection of 5,000 books (one for each resident of Branford at the time). The library now has well over 80,000 books in addition to other materials such as DVDs, magazines, and a telescope!

 

The library also recently completed a $5.2 million renovation that added a dedicated computer lab, more meeting space, expanded space for children and teens, and a new entry with roof top terrace.

 

Blackstone Memorial library has seen major increases in demand for downloadable and streaming materials, support for the teens in the community, and in the use of the library as a community meeting place. To address those changes, in addition to digital books accessible through the state library and through the library consortium, the Library has signed on with multiple companies that provide digital books, movies, magazines and more.

 

Director Karen Jensen says, “To better support the teens in our community, we created a new position for a dedicated teen librarian who can focus on strengthening the teen materials collection and increasing the events we offer that teens want to come to. To support the idea of a community hub, we’ve increased the quality and number of events we host, from workshops to lectures to concerts, and with a recent renovation, have increased the number of study tables and conference rooms that are freely available to the public.”

 

Author and reader organizations can become strong advocates for libraries, with publishers and the public to address budget challenges. Director Jensen suggests that pressure on publishers to keep prices for libraries at reasonable levels will help offer more titles for circulation in different formats. General public awareness campaigns on how libraries have enriched patrons personally may also increase support for libraries at budget time.

 

The most pressing challenge for public libraries continues to be shrinking budgets and increasing technology shifts. The increased demand for digital services means libraries must reallocate their own budgets to accommodate, but publishers continue to make digital materials the most expensive items for libraries to purchase or license. At the same time, libraries have to prove their worth to their funding bodies time after time, fighting a pervasive idea that ‘no one uses the library anymore’ with the facts: library usage, while fluctuating from year to year, has shown an increase over a ten-year period, according to a survey by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

 

Reading trends come and go. The past years at Blackstone have seen a rise in the demand for quality teen books by both teens and adults. Another is that graphic novels are becoming more widely accepted by the mainstream public as actual books, and not just extended comics. Finally, more and more women authors and especially authors of color are getting attention, as demand for more diverse books has increased.

The emergence of ebooks has had an impact on Blackstone’s circulation statistics and who visits the library.  Some patrons download ebooks from the library website at home or work or when traveling, negating the need to visit. Other patrons come often to browse the stacks, see what’s new, get recommendations from staff and from other people who are also visiting the library, and to pick up their holds.  Still others follow book club picks, whether from Oprah, Reese Witherspoon, local library groups, personal book groups, Indie Bound’s Next List or other sources to make their reading selections.

 

Good news for SinC members is that the mystery genre is always hugely popular, especially series, according to Director Jensen. She says, “To serve our community’s needs, we give the mystery books their own section, so people can more easily find exactly what they want.”

 

She goes on to say, “People are always looking for the next book from Louise Penny, John Grisham, Donna Leon, Nordic Noir authors, cozy mystery authors, or maybe their interest is piqued by a film or series tie-in.  Some publishers have been re-issuing classic American and British crime novels (with great cover art!) which have been very popular with our readers.  Many mystery books and library patrons with varied reading interests keeps things hopping.

Our Reader’s Advisory pamphlets have been very helpful for people looking for new mystery authors.  Patrons frequently ask for suggestions from the staff, and many of our staff know what authors patrons like to read, placing holds and suggesting titles and/or authors.”

More good news for mystery authors is that Blackstone’s patrons are willing to try new authors. There are a number of patrons who regularly engage with staff, talking about books, and they take recommendations of new books to try. The library also creates book displays of established and new authors, and it seems no matter the topic, those books are always flying off the display table!

To learn more about the James Blackstone Memorial Library, a living legacy, visit: http://www.blackstonelibrary.org 

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