On Saturday, January 25, from 1-4 pm, C.H. Booth Library will host a Global Community Engagement Day. The special event will be an opportunity for readers to learn more about the diverse organizations in town and what they have to offer everyone.

As of January 21 the following organizations had registered to participate:

Agora Corp, Ability Beyond The Court Inc, American Legion/Auxiliary/Sons of American Legion, Danbury Student and Business Connection, Friends of the C.H. Booth Library, Friends of Newtown Seniors, The Garden Club of Newtown, The Girl Scouts of Connecticut, and Newtown Allies For Change.

Also, Newtown Choral Society, Newtown Cultural Arts Commission, Newtown Historical Society, Newtown Lions Club, Newtown Woman’s Club, GFWC, Inc, Rotary Club of Newtown, Town & Country Garden Club, The Victory Garden, and World Heritage Cultural Center.

The event will be set up in and near the Gathering Room up on the second/main floor of the library, 25 Main Street. All are welcome to visit at their convenience. Registration is not required.

Continuation Of ‘Join Or Die’ Screening

Global Community Engagement Day follows the “Join or Die” event the library co-hosted with Newtown Congregational Church earlier this month.

The Join or Die film reflects the groundbreaking work of Harvard social scientist and researcher Robert Putnam.

Putnam is the author of Bowling Alone, which captured his earlier work detailing how the very fabric of America was beginning to unravel, as traditional social interactions were diminishing greatly. Putnam continued his research and documented it in the film screened at C.H. Booth Library on January 11. The name of the film is based upon the “Join or Die” woodcut cartoon published by Benjamin Franklin in 1754.

The film illustrates the dramatic reduction in “social capital” due to the ever-increasing isolation of Americans. Putnam’s work has documented the dramatic decline in participation in churches, synagogues, and mosques, service organizations such as the Rotary Club, the Shriners, and the Lions Club, participation in the NAACP, on PTOs and PTAs, membership in the Masons, participation in bowling leagues, service on community boards, and even neighborhood social events such as dinner parties, group picnics, and block parties.

His premise is that if this trend of failing to join clubs and organizations continues it will erode this country’s democracy. The trend of an increasing disconnect with family, friends, formal and informal organizations, and neighbors is found in every state in the country.

Audience members said they found the research to be “highly troubling,” “Fascinating but unnerving,” “Reflective of today’s social norms,” and “A clarion call to action.”