This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
10/19/2016 08:30 AMThinking back to the first day of her career—Nov. 5, 2001—at the Hagaman Memorial Library, Cynthia Gwiazda remembers a very different library. She has seen many changes over the years, the majority revolving around technology.
“When I was first hired, there were no iPhones, no tablets; we were working off slow PCs,” says Cynthia. “Librarians’ jobs have changed a lot due to new technology, and we’ve adjusted to that.”
Cynthia encourages patrons to visit the library with questions about their devices. She can help people install the OverDrive app, which allows patrons to borrow eBooks and audiobooks from the library’s catalog. Patrons can also borrow tablets with their library cards.
“The tablets are linked to specific companies—Amazon for Kindle or Barnes and Noble for the Nook—but within them, you can still get the application and that allows you to download the eBooks and audiobooks for free,” says Cynthia. “Our focus is on getting them set up on the app.”
While Cynthia is happy to help visitors with technology, as the community services librarian, she has a myriad of other responsibilities as well, including collection development of fiction and large-print materials, organizing the traveling library that brings books to the residents at Mariner’s Point, researching grant opportunities, and organizing programming and events.
The events at the Hagaman Library are varied to appeal to a wide variety of interests. Cynthia runs a genealogy club on the second Wednesday of each month that features speakers who discuss aspects of tracing a family tree. She also hosts a bi-monthly book club that focuses on contemporary fiction and a film and pizza night on the last Thursday of the month.
“My favorite part of my job seeing how happy people are at the events and how much they appreciate having these things available,” says Cynthia. “The best part is getting feedback that people are really getting something out of the programs we’re offering and we’re bringing new people into the library.”
The larger events that Cynthia is involved with are a big draw from bringing in new patrons. In June 2015, she was “heavily involved” in organizing a multicultural fair that brought in community groups and activities. This year, the library hosted a health fair at which residents could get information from groups such as the East Haven Food Pantry, the East Haven Community Kitchen, the Agency on Aging, East Shore District Health Department, a dietician from Shop Rite, and more.
“It was a good first try and something I’d like to do annually,” says Cynthia, who lives in Wallingford with her husband John and nine-year-old daughter Mary Carole. “We had 58 people attend and we’re hoping for even more next year.”
Cynthia also plans special events such as concerts, speakers on different topics, and historical programs. There is a weekly creative writing class, an upcoming authors’ panel, and Ask-a-Lawyer is held on the third Wednesday of each month. The library also hosts citizenship classes on Tuesdays through the East Haven Adult Learning Center and will hold a naturalization ceremony in the spring.
“The new fiction and new large print books are very popular and our circulation for new material is very high, but we are way more than books,” says Cynthia. “There is such a variety of things we do now that have to do with trying to meet people’s needs as quickly as we can.”
Cynthia has now been meeting the needs of East Haven residents for 15 years. Before being hired at the Hagaman, she worked as a clerk in a Norwich public library. While she has always loved the library and can remember the first time her mother brought her to one, she had never considered becoming a librarian.
“I remember being about four and going to the library for the first time, seeing all those books, the smell of those books, and when my mother said I could take out as many as I wanted, I was so excited,” says Cynthia, who got her bachelor’s in education. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to teach, and I took a career assessment after graduating college that said I’d be a good librarian.”
Cynthia began by combining the two careers, setting out to become a school librarian, but after working at the Otis Library in Norwich, she found her calling in public libraries. She has enjoyed immersing herself in the community and enjoying the support from residents and the Friends of the Hagaman Library, which hosts a number of annual fundraisers to benefit the library.
“The Friends group really works hard to raise money for the library,” says Cynthia, who enjoys plays, live music, hiking, history, and of course, reading. “I encourage people to join the group because they help us to continue to move forward and expand services.”
Cynthia has seen the services offered by the library adjust to the community’s needs in her 15 years with the Hagaman Library. In addition to books, eBooks, and audiobooks and events and programming, the library also offers use of computers and fax machines, DVDs, citizenship applications, Spanish books for adults and children, and more.
“There is something for everyone here,” says Cynthia. “We are always trying to bring people into the library and make it more of a central, community place. We’re a very small staff compared to the population we’re serving, but we really try to do a lot. We are always looking for new things to do and what’s popular. The library is so important to the community because there are so many services we can provide that some people may not have access to otherwise.”
For information and a calendar of events, visit hagamanlibrary.info.