A group of 20 or so patrons of the Scoville Memorial Library took a tour through the nooks and crannies of the building on Friday evening, Dec. 20.
The tour was a repeat of last year’s tour, but everybody who showed up was new to it.
There were fewer staffers on hand due to the snow that was falling at show time. Karen Vrotsos, the head of adult programs, stood in for library director Karin Goodell. Also leading groups were volunteers David Rogers and Macey Levin, and the latest addition to the staff, children’s librarian Kyla DeRisi.
Vrotsos took a group to the director’s office, where they admired the portrait of Andrew Warner — one of the founders of Hartford — and heard how a long shot inquiry from a descendant led to the portrait turning up in the library’s holdings.
Then it was up the narrow spiral staircase to a room that holds the original books that made up the library’s initial collection.
The books are small, fragile, and lean heavily toward religion and morally uplifting subjects.
There is also a sword, which might have been made in France in the 1770s and exported to the American colonies for use in the Revolution.
Moving to the reading room, Macey Levin reminded the younger members of the group that it used to be the children’s section, directed the group’s attention to the stone carving in the wall — from Salisbury Cathedral in England — the Oak Room (aka the Kobler Room or the Tower Room) and the map on the wall in an alcove showing the old 14 school districts within Salisbury.
In the basement, DeRisi pointed out a display of miniature books donated by the late Whitney North Seymour. The display was once in the main room of the library, was stowed away in the director’s office, and was then relocated downstairs during the most recent renovation.
There are also bound copies of the Lakeville Journal.
Upstairs under the bells, Rogers explained why the group could not go up the “rickety” ladders to see the actual bells. (Answer: insurance).
Rogers said the “Parsifal Peal” used by the library for its bells is based on Richard Wagner’s “Parsifal” opera and as far as he knows is the only bell tower in the United States that plays it.
He then obliged by playing it on his saxophone.
