Donation Turns Into Books Across Hartford

From the Hartford Public Library:

April 16, 2021

By Steve Scarpa

Diminished access to books became yet another unexpected result of the global pandemic.

Schools shuttered their own libraries for fear that circulating the books would spread the virus. Public libraries, including HPL, limited services for a time until more information about the spread of the disease was known.

Thanks to the help of a local donor, Hartford Public Library has a plan to tackle this issue head on.

Denise Martens, HPL’s head of youth services, is using a $3,000 donation to purchase books for distribution throughout Hartford. This donation, a third of which will be spent buying books in Hartford itself, will purchase hundreds of high quality books for children and teens.

“The feedback we heard from kids is that they wanted physical books,” Martens said.

Last summer, the Library on Wheels distributed books all over Hartford. The objective was to get volume out in the neighborhoods where books were scarce. This summer, Martens and her team are taking a more targeted approach.

“Over the summer we want to get books into kids to combat some of the book deserts that spring up in Hartford,” she said. “This year we felt the need was even greater.”

They purchased over 100 copies of the critically acclaimed new children’s book “Milo Imagines the World” for distribution to after school programs. The library will help those programs set up a series of activities connected with the book, Martens said.

In addition, new books will be handed out at the Barbour Library’s Foodshare distribution, through the Library on Wheels and at a local juvenile detention center. Martens points out that the books, a variety of titles ranging from stuff for kids to teen novels, have been published in the past year.

“This is what happens when we give away books. I can touch every part of the community,” Martens said.

Building home libraries is a core part of the youth services department’s long term goals. “By building home libraries we increase literacy and school success. We can show the importance of books in people’s lives,” Martens said.

Putting great books out into the world isn’t just about educational goals. Using literature’s unique ability to offer windows into both shared and

Martens and her teams are paying special attention to representation in the books she distributes. “It is important for kids to have access to books that reflect their own life experiences,” she said.

This press release was produced by the Hartford Public Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.