Danbury Library Blog

The Information Services Department receives a number of questions on a daily basis from people in person, by telephone, email and instant messaging. We answer these questions using print & online resources. I had a question on Monday from a gentleman who is writing a book (nonfiction) which included some details about Michael J. Madigan. He had come across two different sources about Madigan's birthplace. One source had him as being born in Danbury while a second had him born in Pennsylvania. He needed me to check if Madigan had indeed been born in Danbury. The first resource I used was Ancestry Plus (which is available only in the library) which is an extremely powerful and comprehensive Genealogy database. I put Madigan's name in the search box and found in my results an electronic copy of his World War Two registration card which indicated that he was born in Danbury.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

To paraphrase Sally Field's 1984 Oscar speech, "You use us! You really use us!" According to a recent online poll in August, public libraries in the U.S. are busier than ever. In-person visits are up 10% compared with a 2006 American Library Association survey, and 76% of Americans visited their local public library in the past year, compared with 65.7% two years ago. Online visits to public libraries increased even more, from 23.6% in 2006 to 41% this year. Here at the Danbury Library, our total circulation of all items is 8% higher than at this time last year, and our 30,450 active library users (up 5%) checked out 175,580 books, magazines, books on CD, DVDs, CDs, etc. between July 1 and September 30. While 68% of Americans have a library card, only 39% of Danbury residents do -- so there's room for improvement on that score. So whether you visit in person or online, or whether you call, email or IM, make use of the vast and free resources of the most democratic institution in the country: your local public library.

Posted by Mark at 05:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to the city of Danbury and Danbury Library, I've been fortunate enough to have been sent to beautifully sunny Monterey, California this week for Internet Librarian 2008. At Internet Librarian, I gained positive reinforcement on what I am already doing for our website, learned about some neat new little tricks, and picked up on new trends and ideas for the future of libraries and websites. The biggest, and most important idea that I gathered from the conference was that all the work we do needs to be user-centric. Everything that librarians and library staff do should always be based around the needs and desires of our public, our users. While it seems obvious, one of the main points we forget is that oftentimes, while certain terms, methods and jargon seem perfectly logical to us, "circulation desk" or "interlibrary loan" hardly make sense to the average person at all. Also, while having the latest, hottest and newest may seem like a great idea, it isn't always so. If our users aren't interested or have no use, then it's really just a big waste of time. These were just a few of the larger ideas and concepts that I pulled away from Internet Librarian, and I hope our library will continue designing and applying new technology as you, our users, see fit, and hopefully, Danbury Library will continue to provide excellent service to you!

Posted by Merry at 04:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This postcard shows Main St. opposite the current location of the library. You can see the Empress & Palace theaters & the difficulty in parking on Main St. even then.

This postcard from Nov. 1, 1905 shows the original building of the Danbury Hospital which opened on Locust Ave. on Jan. 31, 1890.

This postcard shows the First Congregational Church at Main St. & Chapel Place. As the text in the card says, it burned down in 1907 & was relocated to Deer Hill Ave. & West St.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 01:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The first Monday of October 1978 was a warm, beautiful fall day--perfect for an afternoon ballgame. We all filed into Fenway (yes I was one of the faithful) for a special, end of season, tie-breaking game between the Red Sox and Yankees which author Richard Bradlley contends was The Greatest Game--and many fans will agree.

Bradley goes inning by inning bringing to life the players, managers, the camaraderie, the feuds, the incredible tension of that game. Even though we know the sad outcome--for Red Sox fans --it's a great way to reacquaint yourself with Yaz, Carlton Fisk, Goose Gossage, Thurman Munson--my personal favorite Bill Lee-- all the players who captured our hearts. Bucky Dent marvels that people still come up to him and either thank him for that game or tell him how it ruined their lives.

Posted by Mary at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Paul Newman on September 26, 2008. He was an extraordinary actor and a great humanitarian & philanthropist. An often overlooked factor in his success was his choice of material based on great writers. He appeared in movies based on works by Hemingway, Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Larry McMurtry, John O'Hara, Leon Uris, Irving Wallace & Evan Connell. He also worked with A. E. Hotchner who became his neighbor, friend & confidant. Hotchner had also served in the same capacities for Hemingway.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)