Save Our 1913 Library: A "David & Goliath" Battle

April 14, 2021

Dear Commissioner Goodwin and Planning and Zoning Commissioners,

First of all, I would like to thank you for your selfless service to our town and endless hours spent reviewing complicated 400-page applications like the New Canaan Library’s requests for

— Text Amendment to create a new Quasi-Public Library Overlay Zone (LZ).
— Zone Change Application to designate the Site located in the Business A Zone and Apartment Zone, as within the proposed new “Quasi-Public Library Overlay Zone (LZ).”
— Special Permit and Site Plan to replace the existing 2- story building including a “Library Green”.

Smack in the middle of this application sits the Home of New Canaan, the public living room of generations of Newcanaanites, being held hostage in a David and Goliath battle that will define our town for generations to come. The majestic, quirky, old 1913 Library. Take a look at how it appeared in this postcard I obtained, bought, from the New Canaan Historical Society (image is included as cover to this article).

Notice it says PUBLIC LIBRARY on the post card: “A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants (Wikipedia, 2021)."

As you know, seventy five percent of our library’s budget is funded by the Town of New Canaan. Over 2 million dollars was spent last year to fund the New Canaan Library and over 44 million dollars have been spent in taxpayer money since 1996 to fund the New Canaan Library.

So who really owns the 1913 Library? I would say Newcanaanites do. Our standing is clear.
As you pour over all the details in this comprehensive, lengthy application please protect our Home. We all remember our first library as the passport to independence, freedom and knowledge. Doesn’t New Canaan deserve to keep theirs - the cultural and intellectual center of our town?

We, supporters of the 1913 Library, are the underdogs in this David and Goliath battle. We don’t have fancy videos, glossy architectural renderings, half a million-dollar public relations budgets, paid staff, or virtual reality tours of what 1913 could be…What we do have is a respect for tradition and what has come before us. Before New Canaan was an affluent town, the New Canaan Library allowed the shoemakers, house builders, masons, mothers, fathers, and children to dream. So why not save 1913? It just may be the best decision you’ve ever made.

As you evaluate all that has been put before you, please review the attached compilation of the past years work of teams of local residents searching for the truth about 1913.

Thank you for your time,
Kimberly Norton