The Newtown Bee’s “Get To Know” series features a look at local buildings. Is there a building you would like to “get to know?” E-mail eliza@thebee.com with suggestions.

C.H. Booth Library Director Douglas Lord and reference department head Amy Schumann answered questions about C.H. Booth Library, at 25 Main Street, this week.

In what year was it purchased or built? Begun in 1931, the older part of the building was completed in 1932 by Philip Nichols Sunderland. The facility added an elevator in 1968 and in 1998 completed an addition of 23,000 square feet. The addition was designed by Tuthill & Wells under the leadership of Board President Kathy Geckle and long-time library director Janet Woycik. The institution of the library dates back to the late 1870s.

Who or what entity owns or oversees the building? The Cyrenius H. Booth Library is a municipally owned building, and the building and grounds are controlled by the 16-member Library Board of Trustees, an arrangement quite common in Southern New England. Also like many other New England towns, Newtown’s public library operates with a budget gap of 12 to 15 percent per year. Municipalities base library services with such a gap in order to assess the strength of community support, and to encourage individual contributions. This is why the library depends on healthy contributions to its annual appeal. It is distinct and completely separate from other revenues, some of which are earmarked for specific programs.

How large is the building? 36,000 square feet of goodness and beauty.

How many rooms does the building contain? One could walk through this building three times and come up with three different answers to this question. In addition to the Periodicals and Genealogy rooms there is a Gathering Space and a Program Room used for educational and recreational programs. There are multiple stack areas on each floor and also specific special collections for Art and Antiques & Collectables. Space is also allocated to the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library, the great organization that handles all book and materials donations for the Annual Summer Book Sale.

What purpose/purposes does the building serve? The C.H. Booth Library is Newtown’s principal public library as defined by Connecticut General Statute Sec. 11-24a (3) and as designated by the local municipal governing board. The library serves the educational and recreational needs of the community and is eligible to receive state grants and certain incentive grants. The role of American public libraries changes with the times, so while there will always be books in the library, today’s focus is on a wide variety of services, like fast WiFi connections, remote printing, curbside pickup, and a massive amount of free digital content like streaming films, e-books, and audiobooks. A large and rewarding part of the library’s mission is focused on educational programming that satisfies curiosity for all ages and specifically prepares preschoolers for success in school. Gone are the days of staff in grey sweaters studiously frowning and shushing patrons (well, we kept the grey sweaters to be glamorous).

What is one interesting fact about the building? It has a full-sized attic housing all manner of things that run the gamut from the useful (spare ceiling tiles) to the useless (electrical parts to things that no longer exist). The library serves as a museum as well, starting with Mary Hawley’s collections and expanding to include artwork by Stella Bloch, Civil War paraphernalia, and textiles, such as dresses of opera singer Grace Moore.

What is the most common question you get about the building and the answer? “Whose house was this?” Many people think that the library was the Hawley home, but this is not true. It was constructed as a library in 1932, one of the most modern of its day, with a central vacuum system and cork floors to deaden sounds.