Our great collections are a huge draw for our card-carrying fans, but our excellent programs keep everyone coming back for more. We can’t wait to get started on dreaming big for the future, so we’re not!
While the library puts on over 1,500 programs in a typical year, even during Covid our staff presented 450 virtual programs since March 2020. We also regularly support 60 community groups by working together to ensure that THEIR programs and priorities are served by giving them free access to our spaces, technology support and jointly sponsoring programming events. In 2019 alone, 7,000 community members gathered in the Library for such meetings and events. During Covid we worked with New Canaan CARES, the New Canaan Land Trust, the New Canaan Nature Center, the Chamber of Commerce and others to help them reach their audiences effectively in their urgent time of need. These non-profit organizations know and have helped spread the word that the Library will always be there for them. Free of charge. Way to be a team!
We have begun program planning because we know what new and wonderful possibilities lie ahead for indoor and outdoor events and programs. We believe many of New Canaan’s cherished non-profit organizations will truly benefit from the capabilities and capacity the new Library will bring.
Let’s hear from a few of them about what makes the new Building+Green such a game changer for our Town!
Nancy Geary, President New Canaan Historical Society and Museum
New Canaan Historical Society and Museum
“The Library has been an exceptional partner to the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society both before, and during, these challenging recent times. Through its willingness to work together and co-sponsor educational programs such as The Start of Change: Addressing Racism, and Presidential Trappings, it has helped the Museum broaden its reach into the community. Library staff provided much-needed technological support and training as the Museum transitioned to a virtual world. And, perhaps most importantly, it has been a strong partner in discussions around education, the Town’s rich history, and its dynamic future. I am grateful for all the Library does for the Museum and the larger community. “
Greg Sages, Executive Director of The Glass House
The Glass House
“One of the Glass House’s main initiatives is to increase our outreach in the local community. Our partnership with the New Canaan Library, which began in 2016, has been critical to our ability to meet that objective. Since inception of the partnership, we have held a significant number of speaker presentations at the Library for which local demand to attend far outstripped what the Glass House could accommodate on its own. The plan for a NEW New Canaan library will allow us to take our community outreach to a new level! The versatility and capacity of the proposed facilities, combine with improved technology to provide us with greatly enhanced local presence. And the New Canaan Library team has been so easy to work with. We can’t wait for the library plan to become a reality!”
Barb Achenbaum, Executive Director Staying Put
Staying Put
“The Library has always played a key role in supporting Staying Put’s mission of helping seniors live safely and independently in New Canaan. Over the past 13 years, our partnership has extended from the basics -- hosting book groups, recommending great reads, making doorstep deliveries, and providing tech support – to the essential – co-sponsoring our “Necessary Conversations” series, a four-year effort designed to help facilitate communication between parents and their adult children on the challenges of aging. And perhaps most importantly, the Library has been a welcoming environment where friends can gather and feel fully integrated into the intergenerational fabric of our special town. We are excited about all the opportunities the new building will provide for our seniors to make the Library even more of a home.”
Carolyn Williams and Barbara Davis, Co-owners, Toddlertime Nursery School
Toddlertime Nursery School
“We are avid supporters of the incredible new Library plans because we know how much our families and community will benefit from it. Over many years, we have loved partnering with Miss Marie and the exceptional Children’s room staff on a weekly basis for the literacy component of our lesson plans. We know that the new building and Library Green will bring new meaning to the field trips to the Library that we can’t wait to resume. We look forward to our tradition of hosting the Teddy Bear Sleepover again in the greatly expanded space. During Covid, the incredible storytime zooms were a godsend for our families and children and brought the mission of the Library to a new level. As educators, we are grateful for our partnership and collaboration with the Library and know that both young and old will cherish the new opportunities for social and learning interactions that this incredible new Library will create.”