Hartford Public Library

Hartford Public Library

Hartford Public Library
Country	United States
Established	1774
Location	Hartford, CT
Branches	9 + 1 Mobile Services Library
Collection
Size	500,000 items
Access and use
Population served	125,000
Website	http://www.hplct.org/

The Hartford Public Library serves the city of Hartford, Connecticut. The library's main branch is located at 500 Main Street in downtown Hartford. The nine branch locations are named Albany, Barbour, Blue Hills, Camp Field, Dwight, Goodwin, Mark Twain, Park and Ropkins. All branches feature free public access computers and free wifi.

The Hartford Public Library began in 1774 as the Library Company, started by a group of city leaders. The founding members included Jonathan Brace, Jeremiah Wadsworth, Daniel Wadsworth, George Bull, Elisha Colt, Theodore Dwight, George Goodwin, Chauney Goodrich and Thomas Y. Seymour. The Library Company was a subscription company and opened with some 700 books. The Library Company changed its name to the Hartford Library Company in 1799 and met in the Grammar School House, once located where the east end of the Municipal Building (Hartford city hall) is today. Its first librarian was Solomon Porter, a Yale graduate and principal of the Grammar School.

In 1838, Hartford resident and the first United States Commissioner of Education Henry Barnard organized lectures and debates for young men and called this association the Hartford Young Men’s Institute. They invited Hartford Library Company subscribers to join with them, offering them lifetime memberships. Library company members agreed and brought to the institute their collection numbering over 3,000 volumes.

In 1842, Daniel Wadsworth offered the Young Men’s Institute a stake in what he hoped would become the cultural center of Hartford. Members accepted and, in 1844, the Young Men’s Institute moved into the new Wadsworth Atheneum, eventually sharing space with the fine arts gallery, the Watkinson Library, The Connecticut Historical Society and the Hartford Art School. One of the Institute's most prominent librarians from 1846-1868, essayist Henry M. Bailey wrote in 1850 Thoughts in a Library about the mood there:

"It is a stormy evening: the rain patters on the roof
and beats against the windows. All without is cold and
cheerless, all within is pleasant and cheerful..."