Around Town

New Canaan Library Appoints CEO, Director

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One of New Canaan’s most important community organizations on Thursday announced a new leadership team and structure. New Canaan Library officials said in a press release that Ellen Sullivan Crovatto, formerly vice president of external affairs and philanthropy, has been appointed CEO, and that Cheryl Capitani, formerly vice president of operations, is now library director. 

Rob Lowe, chair of the library’s Board of Trustees, said in the release, “Both Ellen and Cheryl were intimately involved in the conception, building, funding and launch of our proud new home; together they helped make this dream a reality.”

He referred to the library’s hugely popular and heavily used new building and reimagined campus at Main and Cherry Streets, open since last February, including the green, which launched earlier this year. Sullivan Crovatto, a town resident for 23 years, led the library’s $40 million-plus capital campaign for the project. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College and went on to work in corporate finance as a managing director for several international investment banking firms, specializing in private equity fundraising for emerging markets. 

Capitani started at the library as its first full-time teen services librarian in 2013. She has more than 20 years working in libraries and “decades of operational and library knowledge to the position” of director, the press release said.

Around Town

‘We’re Really Excited’: New Canaan Library Opens ‘Green’ to the Public

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New Canaan Library’s widely anticipated green is now open to the public, officials say. Patrons of New Canaan Library can now approach and enter the new building from the corner of Main and Cherry Streets, and the green itself connects the campus to the downtown in a new way, said Vice President of Operations Cheryl Capitani. “We’re really excited about the green being open,” Capitani told NewCanaanite.com. “It’s a step that really, for a lot of us, makes us feel part of downtown in a way that we haven’t felt before. So that connection is exciting for us.

Around Town

Q&A: New Canaan Library on ‘One Book New Canaan’ Selections 

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Since launching the town-wide reading project “One Book New Canaan” here five years ago, New Canaan Library has had scores of locals not only reading the same books but also participating in a wide variety of programs built around them. This year, aided by a committee, the library selected “Spare Parts” by Joshua Davis for its adult One Book New Canaan reading selection, and added a children’s selection, too (see below). We put some questions about this year’s books and programming to library Manager of Public Services Christle Chumney and Manager of Services to Families Cheryl Capitani. 

Here’s our exchange. New Canaanite: “Spare Parts” is a work of nonfiction that touches on some timely topics. What should locals know about this book?

News

Letter: ‘Thank You’ for Supporting Summer Reading Programs for Kids

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Editor,

The kids are back in school at last, and we in the Children’s Room of New Canaan Library would like to take a moment to thank the community for its tremendous support and participation in our summer programs.

People always say New Canaan empties out in the summer but that was definitely not our experience this year. On average, we had over 500 visitors a day in the Children’s Room.  Our summer reading program, which we revamped this year, saw a 250 percent increase in participation, and an incredibly rewarding level of engagement and excitement among our youngest members, who read more than 13,000 books this summer—more than 10,000 more books than were recorded last year. A big thank you goes to the elementary schools for supporting our summer program; inviting our librarians to speak to the students in June really generated excitement about participating. We also thank The Toy Chest and Sky Zone Norwalk for providing exciting summer reading incentives, and United Methodist Preschool for supporting our Family Mini Golf finale celebration.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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The Planning & Zoning Commission on Tuesday decided to postpone to next month its decision regarding the closely followed application from the Philip Johnson Glass House to expand its operations. Designed to help boost revenue in order to keep up the sprawling Ponus Ridge property and its buildings, the National Trust for Historic Preservation site’s plans had drawn some concerns from neighbors. P&Z commissioner Dick Ward said during the meeting that he intended to vote against the Glass House’s application, while chairman John Goodwin said he favored it. ***

Police at about 5:30 p.m. last Monday received a Waveny jogger’s report of a sick skunk in the park, went there, found the animal and dispatched it. ***

The Rotary Club of New Canaan says it’s seeking “three warm and caring families” to volunteer for its well-established exchange student program, involving teens between ages 15 and 19.