Rare Book Room
By Sally Quale

“It’s beautiful!” exclaimed Co-Director Robin Yuran, describing the recently-completed Rare Book Room, another part of the Norfolk Library’s current capital improvements project. The new room is actually a refurbished meeting room on the second floor that now boasts walls of warm, wooden shelving, and is heat and humidity regulated. The first tenants of this rarified space are two genealogical collections—the histories of the towns and some families of Connecticut—and the Barbour Collection: Frederick Barbour’s books on hunting and fishing donated by Allison Barbour Fox upon her father’s death. Until now, these three collections resided on the mezzanine shelves or behind glassed-in shelves in the main room, both of which remain out-of-bounds to the public, as does the Rare Book Room. Registered Library patrons may access these rarities by putting in a request to Yuran, who will deliver the books to you for your use—but only on the Library’s first floor—an understandable hitch as they are too rare to be signed out. Over time, Yuran will be identifying additional books worthy of Rare Book Room residence with the help of a committee of volunteers: Wiley Wood, current President of the Library Board, Holly Gill, and Robin Ketchum.

Robin Yuran peruses a genealogical text in the library’s new Rare Book Room.