Torrington Library

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In 1864, a small group of Torrington men gathered together with the intention of doing something worthwhile for the community. On October 27th of the same year, the men formed Wolcottville Library Association appointed the association's first trustees. In 1881 the Wolcottville Library officially changed its name the Torrington Library The most active trustee at the time was Mr. Lauren Wetmore, who not only worked hard for the Library, but also remembered it in his will. For close to 15 years, the Library was housed in Granite Block and then moved to the Wetmore building on the corner of Church and Prospect Street until the turn of the century. The building that houses the Library today on Daycoeton Place was constructed in 1900 with funds donated by another highly influential and respected donor, Mr. Elisha Turner. At the dedication ceremony on September 11, 1901, Yale professor Bernadotte Perrin said, A Library in a community is a fountain of ennobling influence. A memorial such as the one left by Mr. Turner will live forever and this community will have long memory for Lauren Wetmore and Elisha Turner.Additional benefactors included Lyman W. Coe and Adelaide Coe Godfrey and Ella Seymour Coe who donated the funds for the construction of the Children's Room in 1926. In 1970, substantial renovations were made to the library building to provide stack space, air conditioning and modern lighting. Over the years, other public-spirited citizens have followed the example of the past benefactors and because of this the Library has developed into a learning center for the people of Torrington. Today, the Torrington Library is a doorway to learning and a life-long partner to the community, providing free access to resources including a circulating collection of both print and non-print adult, young adult, and juvenile materials. With new materials added daily, the Library serves a community of over 35, 000 with a dedicated staff of 17 and countless volunteers. The Library offers a variety of free educational and entertaining adult, young adult and juvenile programs. Adult and young adult programs feature author events, historical character performances, musical performances, and informational lectures. Children's programming is also available and includes weekly story times for ages 3-5, Time-for-Tots for ages 18 months to 2 years, and a variety of summer reading and supplemental programs. Other services include public access to Internet and word processing computers ; Interlibrary Loan ; the Library Attraction Pass Program, which allows patrons discounted admission to local attractions such as the Mystic Seaport and Aquarium, the Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art and the Basketball Hall of Fame ; and the Bookworm's Reading Circle. Whether a patron is looking for a great read, a new DVD to watch, or just browsing the Internet, the Torrington Library has it all.