Hagaman Memorial Library is looking to reach out to previously underrepresented demographics and expand its programming with new state and federal grant funding.

The library is one of several in Connecticut that will be participating in the Building Equity-Based Summers (BEBS) initiative, an equity program aimed at empowering libraries to make their own programming more accessible and inclusive for underserved and marginalized communities, according to Hagaman director Sarah Mallory.

“The BEBS initiative is designed to help libraries more equitably provide activities to engage children and teens throughout the summer months, with a focus on helping staff members learn how to engage systematically marginalized youth, families, and communities,” said Mallory. “The idea is that the library—this library—is for everyone; everyone deserves to feel welcome and included here.”

According to children’s librarian Sascha Gardiner, Hagaman has done well with programming that can serve children at the preschool and early literacy levels. However, the BEBS initiative provides the opportunity for greater outreach, especially during the summer months.

“We put a lot of effort in making our programs very varied and attractive to all different age groups, but we want to find out who are we not reaching and why by being part of this cohort with other libraries in the state,” said Gardiner. “We emphasize summer a lot because when it comes to kids, the summer reading program has always been a big, big thing.”

The library will specifically focus its BEBS-supported programming on non-English speaking patrons, especially Spanish-speaking individuals, those with disabilities and on the autism spectrum, and the LGBTQ+ community, said teen services librarian Emily Kalotai.

Kalotai said the objective of Hagaman’s participation in BEBS will be “learning how to not only articulate what equity is to the community and learning how to help support that, but also how to identify groups that are underserved and how to reach out to them.”

For those groups, Kalotai said it is important to “work with them rather than just guessing what they might need to work with them directly, and figuring out what we can do to help support them and what we can do to improve our services here.”

The specific kind of programming to be unraveled next summer will be formulated as library staff communicates with Spanish-speaking, neurodiverse, LGBTQ+ patrons and moves out of an “expert role” and assumes a “supportive role…to figure out where these underserved populations are within our community and what we can do to really help support them more as a library,” said Kalotai.

As participation in the BEBS initiative continues, programming may not be limited to Spanish-speaking and LGBTQ+ patrons.

“As we go forward, we may find that there are other groups that we haven’t been serving, and they may be something else we focus on,” added Kalotai.

Following the necessary training that will be provided to librarians at Hagaman for outreach toward its identified demographics, the library will be awarded $500 from BEBS for its specific programming.

On top of the BEBS grant, Hagaman also received $2,700 in the form of a grant to be used for eight ongoing art classes for older adults. This makes the library one of 10 selected by the Connecticut State Library to participate in a new pilot program called “Creative Aging in Connecticut Libraries.”

The program is called “Drawing Into Painting: Seeing Like An Artist,” and its classes are currently being taught by award-winning author and illustrator Sanna Stanley. The sessions have met full capacity each week with participants who “are enjoying the classes and are looking at the process of drawing in new ways,” according to community services librarian Cynthia Gwiazda.

Outreach in formulating the classes was performed by Hagaman after surveying East Haven seniors “to determine what types of art classes people would like to participate in,” with surveys distributed to locations such as Woodview Apartments, The Village at Mariner’s Point Assisted Living Community, and the East Haven Senior Center,” said Gwiazda.

The sessions foster an inclusive and welcoming environment at Hagaman for people of all abilities and age ranges.

“Art, like the library, is for everyone, at every age and every ability level. Encouraging older adults to embrace the arts allows them to increase their skill set while also forming friendships with classmates and an ongoing relationship with the library,” said Mallory. “Hagaman Library is here to support all members of our community at all stages of their lives. And the Creative Aging program is just one of the new ways we have of providing that support.”

Gwiazda said the classes' success has been encouraging for Hagaman, and “the library is currently seeking funding to hold another eight-week art class series in the spring of 2024!”