Author Links Social Discord

To Library’s Foundations

By Kendra Bobowick

The C.H. Booth Library is far from the quiet collection of books and town artifacts that readers see as they step through the building’s doors at 25 Main Street. Newtown’s book collections, which were the beginnings of what is now the library, uncovered social disputes that help tell the story in author and historian Dan Cruson’s recent release, Cyrenius H. Booth & Earlier Reading Institutions: A History.

A social history of the town is closely intertwined with the library’s evolution, Mr Cruson discovered. On Wednesday, November 28, at 7 pm, in the library’s meeting room, guests are invited to an author talk and book signing.

 “I’ll discuss some of the highlights, some of the important things we found,” he said, anticipating the 20 minutes or more that he will use to lure readers into the chapters of his book. According to a brief description in the library’s newsletter Booth Bylines, “This work is more, however, than the story of collecting and disseminating books to the public. These reading institutions mirrored the social, intellectual, and political currents of the time…it has become a social history of the town, which traces many of the intellectual undertones of Newtown’s recent past that until now have been poorly documented.”

Copies of Mr Cruson’s 119-page soft cover book will also be on sale for $12.

Reference Librarian Andrea Zimmerman noted the “tremendous volunteer effort” that contributed to the book’s publication. Friends of the Library President Mary Maki had formatted the text for publication and created an index, local graphic designer Ray Shaw created the cover art that incorporated a watercolor painting of the library by local artist Ruth Newquist, Kaaren Valenta and Liz Arneth spent time proofreading the book, and Kathy Beals electronically formatted the copy for print. The self-published edition was printed at Bridgeport National Bindery.

Read more about Mr Cruson’s new book and its revealing details about Newtown society in next week’s edition.