Cyrenius H. Booth Library
🏢 Bibliomation Consortium · Newtown, Connecticut
Cyrenius H. Booth Library
Built in 1932 as a posthumous gift to Newtown from philanthropist Mary Elizabeth Hawley and named for her grandfather — a physician who spent fifty years healing this Connecticut town — C.H. Booth Library blends Georgian architecture, a nationally recognized genealogy collection, a Sandy Hook condolence archive, and a 30-device makerspace into one remarkable civic institution.
🕑 Library Hours
| Monday | 9:30am–8pm |
| Tuesday | 9:30am–8pm |
| Wednesday | 9:30am–8pm |
| Thursday | 9:30am–8pm |
| Friday | 9:30am–5pm |
| Saturday | 9:30am–5pm |
| Sunday | Closed |
Hours may vary on holidays; check the library site before visiting.
📍 Location, Contact & Directions
Address: 25 Main Street, Newtown, CT 06470
Phone: (203) 426-4533
Website: chboothlibrary.org
Plus Code: 87H8CM6R+VJ (Newtown, CT)
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👋 Use the Library Online
📖 About Cyrenius H. Booth Library
The Cyrenius H. Booth Library opened December 17, 1932, as a posthumous gift from Newtown philanthropist Mary Elizabeth Hawley, who named it in honor of her maternal grandfather, Dr. Cyrenius H. Booth — a country physician who practiced medicine in Newtown from 1820 until his death in 1871. Architect Philip Sutherland designed the original Georgian-style brick building (he also designed Newtown's Edmond Town Hall), furnishing it with cork floors, acoustic ceiling tiles, and a centralized vacuum system that made it one of the most advanced libraries in the country at the time. Hawley also endowed the library with a $250,000 trust fund whose interest income covered all operating costs — meaning Newtown taxpayers paid nothing for library services until the early 1980s. A major rear addition completed January 11, 1998 doubled the building's floor space to approximately 36,000 square feet, adding meeting rooms and gallery areas that display Newtown art and historical artifacts. Today the library houses 108,287 volumes, circulates over 258,000 items annually, and serves a community of roughly 28,000 residents with collections, a nationally recognized genealogy room, a makerspace, and a Library of Things.
⭐ What makes this library special
- Opened December 17, 1932, funded entirely by Mary Elizabeth Hawley's bequest — Newtown paid no library taxes until the 1980s thanks to her $250,000 endowment
- Julia Brush Genealogy Collection: a nationally recognized 900+ volume special collection of Connecticut family and local history, cataloged through Archives Online with NHPRC grant funding
- Sandy Hook Condolence Archive: the library digitized ~1,000 images of condolence materials sent to Newtown after December 14, 2012, preserved in partnership with OCLC/ContentDM and Iron Mountain
- chbMAKERS' Corner makerspace with 30+ devices including 3D printers, Cricut machines, dye-sublimation printer, VHS-to-digital converter, and a green screen — walk-ins Wed 4–8 PM & Sat 9:30 AM–1:30 PM
- Library of Things lending includes laptops, WiFi hotspots, power tools, sewing machines, stand mixers, sports equipment, ukuleles, and museum passes to 15 Connecticut destinations
📱 Digital Resources — Free with Your Library Card
Newtown cardholders access Connecticut's shared digital resources through the Bibliomation consortium:
📚 Services
- Words on Wheels — home delivery of library materials to Newtown residents unable to visit in person
- Notary services available to patrons
- Outgoing fax service
- Black-and-white and color printing on every floor
- Scanning at the 3rd-floor Reference Department
- WiFi hotspot lending (2-week checkout, 1 per patron)
- Study rooms and meeting spaces bookable by community groups
- Museum and attraction passes to 15 Connecticut destinations (2-day checkout)
- Patio pickup by appointment
- Digital Navigator assistance for computer and technology help
- Genealogy research assistance with dedicated Genealogy Room (3rd floor)
- Interlibrary loan through Bibliomation shared catalog
🎸 Programs
- chbMAKERS' Corner makerspace (walk-ins Wed 4–8 PM & Sat 9:30 AM–1:30 PM; equipment training required)
- Genealogy Club of Newtown — meets at the library; maintains binders of cemetery, church, and vital records (1711–1946)
- SCAN (Society of Creative Arts of Newtown) rotating art exhibitions in library galleries
- Art Explorers (ages 3–6 with adult) — art-making sessions with varied media
- Storytime and early-literacy programs for children
- Teen and young adult programming and events
- Book discussions and adult reading groups
- Annual Summer Book Sale managed by the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library
📍 Nearby Libraries in Fairfield County
Distances are approximate straight-line miles from this library.
All libraries in Newtown · Browse all Connecticut libraries →
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Cyrenius H. Booth, and why is the library named after him?
Dr. Cyrenius H. Booth (1797–1871) was a country physician who practiced medicine in Newtown for more than fifty years, earning a reputation as a skilled and beloved healer across Fairfield County. Described by contemporaries as 'a man of infinite mirth and a famous storyteller,' he declined all offers of public office to focus on medicine. His granddaughter, the philanthropist Mary Elizabeth Hawley, chose to honor his legacy by funding and naming the library after him. His medical books, dental tools, candlesticks, and mortars and pestles are preserved in the library's collection today.
What is the Sandy Hook Condolence Archive, and can I access it?
After the December 14, 2012 tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the world responded by sending hundreds of thousands of letters, cards, quilts, and other items to Newtown. The C.H. Booth Library partnered with OCLC to create a digital archive of approximately 1,000 representative images of those condolence materials, searchable through ContentDM. The physical items are stored in perpetuity by Iron Mountain in a secure facility donated indefinitely by the company.
What makes the Julia Brush Genealogy Collection special?
The Genealogy Room on the library's third floor holds the Julia Brush Collection — a nationally recognized holding of over 900 volumes on Connecticut family and local history, bequeathed by Julia Brush (née Clark) in 1942. The collection includes correspondence, unpublished genealogical manuscripts, and primary source materials, all cataloged through Connecticut's Archives Online with National Historical Publications and Records Commission funding. In-library patrons also have access to Ancestry Library Edition, and special binders contain Newtown cemetery inscriptions, church records (1715–1946), and vital records (1711–1852).
How did a single benefactor fund the library for fifty years without taxpayer money?
Mary Elizabeth Hawley, who died in 1929, left two separate bequests: construction funds to build the building (completed December 17, 1932), and a $250,000 endowment trust whose interest income was earmarked to cover all operating costs in perpetuity. For nearly half a century this arrangement worked exactly as intended — Newtown residents paid no library taxes at all. It was only in the early 1980s, as costs grew beyond what the trust's interest could sustain, that the town began contributing public funds to library operations.
🎨 This library lends museum passes. See how library museum passes work and find other libraries that lend passes museum passes by state.
📋 This library offers notary services. See what a library notary can do — what to bring, fees and appointments — and find other libraries with a notary notary services by state.
📜 This library has genealogy & local-history resources. See how library family-history research works and find other libraries with genealogy collections genealogy libraries by state.
🧰 This library lends a “Library of Things.” See what you can borrow besides books and find other libraries with a Library of Things Library of Things by state.
🔨 This library has a makerspace / 3D printing. See how library makerspaces and 3D printing work and find other libraries with a makerspace makerspaces by state.
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