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The buildings of the Prosser Public Library
and the Wintonbury
Branch Library date
from 1965 and 1972
respectively.
However, the history of libraries in
Bloomfield
predates
the Town’s
incorporation in 1835. There were at
least
three,
perhaps, four subscription libraries
that preceded
the founding
of Prosser
Public Library as the main library in the
Town of
Bloomfield, Ct. The Wintonbury
Society Library was
in
existence from
1793-1824 and was affiliated with the
Congregational Church. The Wintonbury
Union Library
operated in the decade prior
to the Civil War. The
inscription
of the
Young Gentlemen and Ladies Library
appeared
in
some of the early books
donated to Prosser Library.
The
last library
of interest was the Bloomfield Library
Company
that was operated by Samuel G.
Buckingham from his
cobbler shop that was
located on Tunxis Ave.
(Prosser
Library owns
a bench from the cobbler shop. Cobbler
Buckingham was shown on early bookplates
of the
Prosser Library.)
In 1900 Levi Prosser, son of a
prominent
Bloomfield family
but a resident of
Massachusetts, left 1/6th
of his estate
($15,255.85) to the Town of Bloomfield to
establish a free
public library. Prosser Library
was dedicated in
1903 and
was housed in a
multi-purpose building that included
the
Town
Hall and was located on the Library’s present
site,
1 Tunxis Ave. In 1963, the original building
was
torn down.
Unfortunately, while the library’s
collections were
in storage
at the Center
Grammar School on Jerome Ave, that
building
was destroyed by fire along with most of
the
collections.
The present building was
dedicated in 1965.
There were also precursors to
the Wintonbury
Branch Library.
A home in North Bloomfield
served as the first
branch library
beginning in 1908. The Blue Hills Branch Library,
also called
The East Branch Library, was funded
by the Women’s
Auxiliary of the Citizen’s Party
beginning in 1933.
It was
later supported by the
Town of Bloomfield. The
present
Wintonbury
Branch Library at 1015 Blue Hills Ave.
opened
in 1972.*
*Information about Prosser Public Library comes
from the
book, From Wintonbury to Bloomfield
published
by the
Wintonbury Historical Society,
1983.
The Bloomfield History
Collection:
Prosser Public Library owns a small but significant
historical
collection related to the Town of Bloomfield.
The
oldest
portion is made up of approximately 115
books that
were
donated to Prosser Library when it
was established
in 1903. The books came from the
town’s original subscription
libraries. Town
newspapers are an important segment
of the
collection. The library owns
a full run of
The Messenger published in
Bloomfield during
World War II, The Bloomfield Zip, and the
Bloomfield Journal.
In 2009, the library was the
proud recipient of
two grants
that will assist with the assessment
and
preservation planning
for the historical
collection. The first grant is
from the
Connecticut State Library Archival Assessment
Program. The second is a Preservation
Assistance Grant from
the
National Endowment
for the Humanities. Assessments
associated
with these grants will take place in
2010.
Earlier this year postcards
from the 1935
centennial
celebration were digitized and
now appear on the
Connecticut State Library
website in a collection
called Treasures
of Connecticut Libraries. (Visit
the website at:
http://cslib.cdmhost.com/ctlibs/home.php )
Citizens of the
Town of Bloomfield are
justifiably proud of their
fine
libraries and
the historical collections that they
are
preserving for future generations.
The libraries are proud to participate in
Preservation
Week 2010 … Pass It On …
During the month of May
2010,
visit the exhibit in the lower level of Prosser
Public Library
to see some of the images
that the library will
include in
the preservation
project.
Click here to view programs for
Adults
at the Wintonbury Branch:
Click here to view Children's
Programs:
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