Waterford Public Library Turns 90!

Waterford Public Library was first established on May 23, 1923, with 1,302 books  on the shelves serving 200 people with library cards. The library was open just two days a week; Tuesday and Saturday between the hours of 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Today, Waterford Public Library has 85,000 items for loan—including books, magazines, and movies—and has a circulation of 240,000. It's open 70 hours a week, serving 13,000 people seven days a week. 

Clearly, some things have changed over the past 90 years. For the past 40, however, one thing has stayed the same—Assistant Director Judy Liskov has been there to help.  

When Liskov was first hired as a part-time circulation clerk. "The building was half the size," Liskov recalls. "I was just delighted to work here." 

After about nine months, Liskov was promoted to the newly created position of reference librarian. Today, even though her title is assistant director, she continues to work the reference desk, where she sets the standard for customer service.  

No matter how obscure the question, Liskov is always ready with an answer. Someone once called in search of a recipe, but all she could remember was what the cover of the cookbook looked like. Liskov tracked down the book and called back with the recipe in time for dinner. 

"Someone called from a laundromat who put too much soap in the machine and needed to know what to do," says Library Director Roz Rubinstein. Again, Liskov was able to help. "I love the fact that in 2013, people's first thought is to call the library," says Rubinstein.

Waterford Library—More Relevant Today Than Ever

For Rubinstein, the greatest joy is seeing kids come in to get their first library card. "It never gets better than that," she says.

Seeing first time visitors come in and ask how much they have to pay to rent a video or sign up for a program, however, is a close second.

"I love when they first come in and ask, 'How much does it cost?'" she says. She delights in telling them, "It's free."

"That's the public library," she says.  

Paraphrasing the famous Mark Twain quote, Rubinstein notes, rumors of the library's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

"So much of how we do things has changed but so much of what we do has not," says Rubinstein. "We got right on the E-book bandwagon. In July, we'll have downloadable magazines. But it's still a very small percentage [of what people come in for]. Less than one percent is E-reader. We find that people are not using them instead of books but in addition to.  

"Since the advent of the Internet things have changed, and all for the better. We're as relevant today as we ever were." 

The Heart of the Community

Indeed, in the absence of a town square, the library has in many ways become the heart of the community. It's always been a quiet place to sit and read, but today it's also a place to surf the Internet, to watch a movie, to hear an author give a talk, to bring the kids for story time or special events.

Rubinstein says people who have moved away from the area still call the library, sometimes just to hear a friendly voice on the other end of the phone. 

"They say there's no library like this," says Rubinstein. "It's different—and it's a library that really does have the love and support of its community." 

If you love the Waterford Public Library, you can show your support on Saturday when the Library celebrates its 90th anniversary with an open house and cake from noon to 2 p.m.

State Rep. Betsy Ritter and State Sen. Andrea Stillman will also be stopping by to present a special citation from Connecticut's Legislature in honor of the occasion.