A groundbreaking for the new public library in Hartford will be held this week. The Hartford Library has used its current space since 1925, and the new facility will be named the Art and Bonna VanDerlyn Community Center and Hartford Public Library, after the owners of the local Harding’s. Bonna VanDerlyn has pledged big support for the effort to build a new library. The groundbreaking will be this Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the site between East and Church Streets. Bonna Vanderlyn will be attending. Library leaders say they want to show “our sincere appreciation for all that she has done for the Hartford community now and in the past.” The new library will include a 21st century humanities center with areas for literacy and teen involvement, a maker’s space, and a home for the Van Buren Genealogical Society. In addition to the support from Bonna Vanderlyn, the new library project has received a $400,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
