A Message to our Donors...
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Fall 2023
You asked and we delivered! Each year we set goals for the Library in hopes that we can become a more dynamic organization for our community. Each year you help us reach those goals! We hope you enjoy our 2023 Highlights flyer included in this mailing that showcases the direct impact your past gifts had on the library this year.
As we approach our 160th Anniversary in 2024, we strive to keep asking and keep delivering. As we look back at our history within the community and library field, we can’t help but notice that we have a long history of looking forward. When COVID hit, we were among only 15 (out of 180) libraries in the state to reopen for public use months ahead of our counterparts. Two years ago, we were among a small number of libraries to go fine-free; now almost every library in Connecticut is fine free. Twenty years ago, we were among the first libraries to hire a full-time program coordinator tasked to increase public programs and events. So, what’s next?
For the past year we have quietly explored digitizing the Torrington Register Citizen from 1874 to the present day and creating a searchable database of the Register for public use. The Register Citizen has long been Torrington’s guide to the past, documenting local, national, and international news as well as providing a rich visual history of the town through candid photos and well-remembered store advertisements.
Currently, patrons must visit the library, ask to use microfilm on site, and then sift through sometimes dozens of years or papers to find a single piece of information. The process is time consuming of often doesn’t generate the full scope of results needed. Insert the Library’s Register Citizen Digitization Project. A project we can truly DELIVER to the community with your help!
Digitizing the Register Citizen and creating an online, searchable database is essential to not only preserving our local history but making that history available to anyone, anytime, anywhere—expanding the narrative of Torrington not only across the state, but across the globe. All without an expensive monthly subscription. All at your fingertips. All for FREE.
This project is critical to future generations and is truly trendsetting (only a handful of town libraries in the United States have completed a project of this scope). We can’t think of a better way to celebrate 160 years than to give the community free and unprecedented access to our shared history.
How can you help? The scope of this project is enormous. It means converting over 700 rolls of microfilm into PDF files, then working with a secondary company to build and host a searchable database. The up-front, one-time cost is $31,600. In addition, there is a yearly maintenance fee to maintain the database and update each year’s newspaper. The estimated total cost per year is $6,500. We have the capacity to maintain the project for decades to come, but we ask for your help to cover the upfront initial cost. We have approached foundations to help fund the initial project and are anxiously awaiting a response, but we don’t expect them to cover the full cost.
Your donation today will supplement grant and foundation funds and, as always, help us support the dozens of other projects we offer yearly. Please consider making a gift to the Library and be a part of this exciting and vital project.
Thank you for your consideration and we hope you have a happy and healthy holiday season!
Warmly,
Steven M. Temkin, President
AND
Jessica Gueniat, Director
You asked and we delivered! Each year we set goals for the Library in hopes that we can become a more dynamic organization for our community. Each year you help us reach those goals! We hope you enjoy our 2023 Highlights flyer included in this mailing that showcases the direct impact your past gifts had on the library this year.
As we approach our 160th Anniversary in 2024, we strive to keep asking and keep delivering. As we look back at our history within the community and library field, we can’t help but notice that we have a long history of looking forward. When COVID hit, we were among only 15 (out of 180) libraries in the state to reopen for public use months ahead of our counterparts. Two years ago, we were among a small number of libraries to go fine-free; now almost every library in Connecticut is fine free. Twenty years ago, we were among the first libraries to hire a full-time program coordinator tasked to increase public programs and events. So, what’s next?
For the past year we have quietly explored digitizing the Torrington Register Citizen from 1874 to the present day and creating a searchable database of the Register for public use. The Register Citizen has long been Torrington’s guide to the past, documenting local, national, and international news as well as providing a rich visual history of the town through candid photos and well-remembered store advertisements.
Currently, patrons must visit the library, ask to use microfilm on site, and then sift through sometimes dozens of years or papers to find a single piece of information. The process is time consuming of often doesn’t generate the full scope of results needed. Insert the Library’s Register Citizen Digitization Project. A project we can truly DELIVER to the community with your help!
Digitizing the Register Citizen and creating an online, searchable database is essential to not only preserving our local history but making that history available to anyone, anytime, anywhere—expanding the narrative of Torrington not only across the state, but across the globe. All without an expensive monthly subscription. All at your fingertips. All for FREE.
This project is critical to future generations and is truly trendsetting (only a handful of town libraries in the United States have completed a project of this scope). We can’t think of a better way to celebrate 160 years than to give the community free and unprecedented access to our shared history.
How can you help? The scope of this project is enormous. It means converting over 700 rolls of microfilm into PDF files, then working with a secondary company to build and host a searchable database. The up-front, one-time cost is $31,600. In addition, there is a yearly maintenance fee to maintain the database and update each year’s newspaper. The estimated total cost per year is $6,500. We have the capacity to maintain the project for decades to come, but we ask for your help to cover the upfront initial cost. We have approached foundations to help fund the initial project and are anxiously awaiting a response, but we don’t expect them to cover the full cost.
Your donation today will supplement grant and foundation funds and, as always, help us support the dozens of other projects we offer yearly. Please consider making a gift to the Library and be a part of this exciting and vital project.
Thank you for your consideration and we hope you have a happy and healthy holiday season!
Warmly,
Steven M. Temkin, President
AND
Jessica Gueniat, Director
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