Director Celebrates 25 Years At

The C.H. Booth Library

By Nancy K. Crevier

As festivities get underway for the C.H. Booth Library’s 75th anniversary, the 25 Main Street institution must also acknowledge another anniversary taking place this year: Library Director Janet Woycik will celebrate 25 years of service at the helm this September.

“The Friends of the C.H. Booth Library congratulate Janet on her 25 years of service to our community,” said Friends’ president Mary Maki. “As we celebrate the library’s 75th Anniversary year, we can also celebrate Janet Woycik’s many accomplishments. Newtown has a first-rate library today because of Janet’s knowledge, management skills, and sincere concern for her patrons and staff.”

When Ms Woycik took on the duties of director of the C.H. Booth Library in September of 1982, she had served for just six months as the children’s librarian there. A 1976 graduate of Arizona State University with a master of library sciences degree, she had only recently returned to the work force.

“I really had no idea what I was getting into,” said Ms Woycik. “There were only six employees then, including myself and the custodian, Jim Kearns. I knew we needed someone in charge of adult services and Maureen Armstrong stepped up. We needed someone in the children’s department, and that was Ruth Warner. Arlene Kimball was our bookkeeper and Jane Campbell worked circulation, mainly.”

What she had observed in her six months on the staff, though, was the dire need for more space. The board had been turned down recently for the money to provide an addition, so the first task she set herself was making the best use of what space was available.

“The third floor was all a museum collection. So we got an architect who designed a children’s story hour room and spiffed up the children’s department in the south room of the third floor. Then we put in an elevator and added the back stairs. We turned the north room upstairs into the young adult and nonfiction department,” recalled Ms Woycik, of her first months on the job.

With a little more space freed up and an increased patronage, Ms Woycik then made weeding out the book collection a priority. “A lot of the books were in bad shape or just too old. Then I ‘talked up’ automating the collection, and went to the town to ask for money. That was in 1985.”

By 1990, public computers with Internet access were installed in the library, and the library’s collection included videos, music tapes, and books on tape. “Now, of course, we have already begun to reduce the number of videos and tapes and increase our collection of CDs and DVDs to keep up with technology,” said Ms Woycik.

There was a steep learning curve the first two years on the job, recalled Ms Woycik. “I had to learn the business end of the library. It was nerve wracking. I was working with the town council, the selectman, the Board of Trustees. I was building a budget and fundraising, and it was all new to me.”

She credits her success to the support of staff and her husband, Rich, and her two children, Kristin and Jennifer. “My children were little then. Kristin now has two children, Emma and Ethan, and Jennifer has three, Madison, Jake, and Carsen. They provided me with the encouragement to do this job well,” she said.

In 1995, she began her push for what would be one of the most monumental tasks she has taken on: the 23,000-square-foot addition to the library.

“We went from 13,000 square feet to 36,000 square feet when we opened in 1998, which was wonderful. It was very exciting. We had meetings every other day, but I loved it.”

The enlargement of the library allowed Ms Woycik to grow in many areas, she said, as she juggled managing the temporary move of the library to Shelton House on the Fairfield Hills campus during construction and the management of a staff housed at the old A&P (Grand Union) store on Queen Street, who received and prepared the many new books.

 “The staff was and is wonderful, especially during that time. The A&P had no heat, except for a few space heaters we had in there, and here it was, December. Every 30 or 40 minutes we’d all get up and dance for five minutes to keep warm.”

During the construction period she also oversaw the sorting, cleaning, and storage of the many books that had been removed from the shelves. “Those books had just been haphazardly packed in boxes by construction workers, so we had the books at Bridgeport Hall and had to work on getting them back in order. The Newtown highway department was enormously helpful then. They moved us back and forth from location to location.” The expansion allowed the library to nearly quadruple its book collection and increase the number of programs offered to adults and children of the community.

“Twenty-five years ago, basically the only programs were story hour and a few historical society presentations and meetings. The library was used primarily just for checking out books and magazines, and later, for using the Internet.”

Presently, the library offers three to four programs a week for adults, along with author talks, and special events such as the upcoming Shakespeare Festival and last year’s series on health and well-being, pointed out Ms Woycik. “We offer a wider variety of materials now, and I think that has helped increase the number of men who now use the library,” said Ms Woycik. “The DVDs are very popular and the commuters like the books on tape and CD.”

Ms Woycik is also proud of the third-floor reference section. “The reference section was very small when I started. Beryl Harrison, one of our reference librarians, has been here many years, as well. She and I have worked together to expand the reference section. Beryl and Andrea Zimmermann are very knowledgeable and will go far out of their way to help people.”

Once a place where people came and went fairly quickly, Ms Woycik sees the present-day library as the heart of the community. “It’s in the center of town and we have lots of programs and materials. A lot of groups meet here.”

 In 25 years, she has seen a burst of popularity in book clubs, several of which began in the library and many that continue to meet there. “We also have a writer’s group that meets here and a poetry group, and we have a young adult writing group now, too,” Ms Woycik said.

The Young Adult department is a new department in the past five years and is one that Ms Woycik felt was greatly needed to involve the youth of Newtown in reading and other activities. “Margaret Brown has done a phenomenal job. It is a very popular program,” said Ms Woycik.

Not only Newtown residents appreciate the welcoming atmosphere of the C.H. Booth Library, Ms Woycik has noticed. Visitors to Newtown, she said, come in just to see the library and view the many historical exhibits spread throughout the building. “We love to have people come in,” she said.

She has tried to hire staff that not only likes the job and are good at it, she said, but who are “people” people. It is an effort that she believes has paid off.

 “People look to the library for events today,” said Ms Woycik, “and people come in here to talk to the staff. I think that’s important and a big part of why people come to this library. It’s very personal.”

Her ability to excel in her job is due not only to her fortitude and determination, but because many others back her up, said Ms Woycik. “The staff is wonderful. I learn from them. My colleagues on the Board of Connecticut Libraries Consortium, the Fairfield Library Administrators Group, and the Connecticut Library Association have made it possible for me to grow and continually learn something new. The Board of Trustees has been very supportive of me over the years as I’ve encouraged advancement in our library,” Ms Woycik said.

Without the generous donations from The Friends of the C.H. Booth Library, expansion of the books and materials collections would not have been possible, Ms Woycik said. “Our book budget has not gone up in years, even as the prices of books rise,” she said.

 A lot has been accomplished in the 25 years she has overseen the direction of the library, but there is always work to be done, said Ms Woycik. “We will have to do more weeding of the book and video collection, and we have just finished a long-range plan for the library to see that we stay current with the needs of the community. We are going to establish an express collection, which will be multiple copies of bestselling books. They will be on loan for one week at a time and carry a very big fine. This way, we can keep more of the very popular books in circulation.”

Wireless computer access and wireless audio in the meeting room, as well as the addition of a self-checkout at the main circulation desk are just a few of the modernizations that have been introduced into the library just this past year. “There are always upgrading projects to do,” said Ms Woycik.

President of the C.H. Booth Library Board of Trustees Judge William Lavery had high praise for Ms Woycik. “Janet is responsible for Newtown having one of the best libraries in the state. We have programs for the young, the old, and the in-between. We have book clubs, a teenagers’ writing group, and outstanding children’s programs. We have so many programs, as well as a changing art show in the meeting room. The library is probably the most used building in this community. Janet has worked to develop these programs and has done a very fine job,” said Judge Lavery.

The 25 years has passed quickly, Ms Woycik said. “I always thought I’d move on to somewhere else, but I love this library. I enjoy getting up and going to work each day.” She looks forward, she said, to a few more years on the job and a few more projects under her belt before she calls it a day and checks out of the library for the last time.

“I’ve learned that I’m a lot stronger than I thought I was and that I’m a good leader. I hope it shows.”