Bethany Library Makes One Last Plea

Bethany residents have just three more days to make a tax-deductible contribution to the library's 2011 fundraising campaign.

According to Jim Foley, a member of the Bethany Library Association's Board of Directors, "We have now passed the 90 percent mark in our effort to meet our 2011 goal of $20,000."

He offers thanks to all of our generous contributors and is pleased to say, "We are almost there. With a final burst of donations, we should exceed our goal. Any check mailed and dated by December 31, will qualify for the allowable charitable deduction for this tax year."

"We depend on the generosity of the people of our town, and especially the card holders and regular users of the library, to continue serving the library's needs," says Foley. Those wishing to donate can stop by the Clark Memorial Library or just call (203-393-2103) to find out how to make that contribution.

The Bethany Library Association is recognized as a nonprofit, section 501(c) (3), and gifts may be deducted as allowed by the tax code. All gifts will be acknowledged with a thank you letter and acknowledgement of donors in the library's annual report in January 2012.

The association was founded in 1930 by townspeople gathered at the home of Treat B. Johnson, a native of Bethany, an internationally known chemist, and Sterling Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Yale. Bethany’s first library building was a cottage on the Johnson estate at 350 Amity Road which opened there on June 22, 1931 with 1,000 books donated by association members and staffed entirely by volunteers.

When the collection had outgrown the Johnson cottage, Noyes Clark, another Bethany native, donated money to build and endow the Clark Memorial Library at 538 Amity Road, which opened in 1936 with 3,500 books. By 1990, collections had once again outgrown the building, and fundraising began for the new Clark Memorial Library. It is considerably larger than the original structure and provides many important services including access for the handicapped and provisions for the latest library technology.

The work was supported by fund drives, donations and by federal, state and town grants. Over half the residents of Bethany contributed to the library’s fund drive. Today the library is a vital part of the town, a source of books, information, recordings (books on tape, CDs and DVDs) newspapers, magazines, reference materials and computers for the use of our patrons.

Foley told Patch this fall that well over half of Bethany's residents have a library card. 

"Last year they borrowed 31,559 items and books from both the adult and the children’s collection," Foley says.