Meriden Public Library

I’m from Meriden — born and raised — and this library is like a second home to me. My family didn’t have very much money when I was growing up, so we spent a lot of time at the library — it was a major source of free entertainment, and it was a place we could go to stay cool in the summertime and warm in the winter while saving our heat resources at home. When I was a kid, I wanted to be like Matilda and read every book in the library — and I think I made a pretty good dent in the children’s section. Now that I’m all grown up, I still love going to this library. I’m too old for story time, and I’d much rather sit at home or at a park somewhere to enjoy my books, but I love going to this library for a lot of the same things I did when I was younger. New books come in regularly, and I can always find something I want to read. The CD collection has all the pop/​top 40 albums I don’t want to buy but will happily load onto my computer for free, plus a great selection of soundtracks, favorites from the 70s and 80s, and even some indie stuff. The DVD collection includes movies, TV shows, and workout DVDs that I like to take out because I get bored with them after a while when I buy them. The book club picks as of late have been pretty good, and they get lots of copies from area libraries so I don’t feel bad taking one even if I’m unsure if I can make it to a book club meeting.
I also like to take advantage of all the memberships the library has. You can get free passes to the Beardsley Zoo and state parks, buy-​one-​get-​one passes to the Mark Twain House, free admission to the Wadsworth Atheneum and New Britain Museum of Modern Art, plus discounts on admission to lots of places including the Peabody Museum and Mystic Aquarium. This was how my parents took me and my brother on a lot of cool day trips when I was younger, and these day trips are still fun for me today. This library really does a lot more than hold a bunch of books and various forms of media. It hosts different programs with movie nights and children’s entertainment, and it has a bookmobile that takes books on the road to schools, nursing homes, and other areas around the city so that people who can’t get to the library themselves can still enjoy its resources.
As much as I love this library, I can’t give it the full 5 stars because I’ve been to so many others in the state that are updated, brighter, and feel like they belong in this decade. This library feels like it hasn’t changed since it was built in the 70s, and it’s exactly as I remember it from the early 90s when I spent most of my time there. I understand that Meriden isn’t a wealthy city, but I agree with Quinn E. — this library is very underfunded, especially considering what a vital resource it is for our community. Every time I have been in here, every computer seat is filled, entire families are browsing the books and DVDs, and a lot of people spend a good amount of time here. The librarians and patrons have to make do with what they have though, and I think they make the best of it. This place has a lot of heart — it is the heartbeat of the city, after all — and that’s why I still love it and am one of its biggest fans.

On my most recent visit to the Meriden Public Library, I realized that it is largely unchanged since the early 90s (at least). I grew up in Meriden, and know it is not a wealthy city. As a government employee, I know that financial resources are tight even in cities with more taxpayers. That said, the City of Meriden should be ashamed of themselves for their obvious underfunding of this vital community resource. They haven’t prioritized the library, despite the important services the library provides to vulnerable populations. But, the librarians at the MPL are clearly a hardworking, dedicated bunch who should be proud of themselves for providing such a high caliber of service. The library is no longer a place to get books (though that is still important, especially for kids and teens) it’s a community center. In a city like Meriden, where lots of families can’t afford computers/​Internet service, the library is where they go to check emails, apply for jobs, etc.
On a Saturday afternoon, every single computer was occupied, and a hardworking librarian hopped from patron to patron, answering questions with remarkable speed and ease. There were also plenty of people reading at tables and looking for books in the stacks. People are using the library heavily, and they were doing so appropriately. What I’m trying to say delicately and failing at is that there weren’t a bunch of meth heads being disruptive. There were a few outside when I arrived, but you can’t complain about outside.
Personally, I found a few books in the stacks and read for a little while. The collection feels pretty old, which is another indication of gross underfunding, but I found a very cool book from 1921. I asked the reference librarian to check if any nearby libraries had another book I was interested in, and he did so happily. All of the librarians I saw seemed really engaged and genuinely interested in helping patrons find what they need. This library is at once what is great about libraries (excellent, helpful, friendly staff) and what is completely wrong about libraries (no budget, old collections). I give the library staff a ton of credit for working with very limited resources and providing high quality service to people who really need it. When I was a youth, spending countless hours in the library, I probably never thanked the librarians. So, better late than never, right? Thanks, librarians!