Books on call: Library delivers stories and access to Weston’s first responders

Detective Kellie Connarton loves mysteries. Freida McFadden, James Patterson, any book with a protagonist trying to get to the bottom of something. She always has a mystery novel in her bag to read if there is a lull at her job with the Weston Police Department.

But between work and taking care of her two kids, finding time to peruse the shelves at the Weston Public Library to pick up a book can be difficult.

“I’ve had a library card for a while, but sometimes it’s hard to get time to get to the stacks and find things,” she said.

For the past year, though, finding her next read has been easier because the Weston Public Library has brought the shelves to both the town’s police department and the fire station.

The library delivers reading materials to increase first responder access, according to Library Director Jennifer Warner.

“We are trying to meet the needs of the population using those materials and provide entertainment and educational opportunities and enjoyment,” she said.

The program began last September. A group of librarians came up with the idea while trying to decide how to get first responders more active with the library. Warner said she was inspired after reading a book about how interacting with art impacts the brain. Other ideas, including art classes for first responders at the library, proved to be more difficult to administer.

Connarton, who has been into thrillers and mysteries since high school, acknowledges that there may be some overlap in her literary taste and her career choice. Whatever the drive, she is glad to be able to access those books at her workplace.

“It’s easy because if I’m walking into dispatch, there’s new books for me to look through or they’ll put out books that they know I’ll like,” she said. “It gives us the opportunity to have a personal library that we may not have because of our hours or family lives.”

In addition to thrillers and suspense novels, the shelf at the police department offers romance novels alongside Reader’s Digest and magazines.

Police Chief Denis Linehan said being able to request materials has been popular with his staff.

“I thought it was a great idea, creative on their part,” Linehan said. “It’s been very well received. Listening to my people, they enjoy when the books come in. They love that they can reach out and ask for something particular, a mystery or a drama, and the library brings them over.”

Casey Stirling, one of the librarians behind the project, said that police and fire staff request a variety of genres for delivery. The librarians swap out the material to keep it from getting stale.

“We bring things about police, fire, first responders, but we bring other things as well because with an intense job like that, sometimes you want a break,” she said.

Fire Chief Justin Woodside said he wasn’t sure if the project would be successful when it started, but firefighters have enjoyed having the materials.

“I told the library director at the beginning we’ll play ball,” he said. “It’s a good addition for our folks. They’re here for 24 hours and there are things in the cart that can get stuff off their mind or research something.”

Books on fly-fishing and financial management are on the shelf at the fire department. There are cookbooks, too, and on occasion firefighters will use them in the station kitchen, according to Deputy Fire Chief Brian Hayes.

Lt. Trevor Daniels is one of the firefighters who makes use of the cookbooks on the shelf. Recently, he made a chicken masala-inspired pasta side dish from a recipe he pulled from one of the books. He’s also an avid reader of outdoors and fishing books because it gives him a chance to learn about his hobbies when he has downtime at work.

“It helps pass the time when you have down time, when you’re done with your training and on call,” he said. “It’s a great resource and I love it.”

Warner said it is important to increase access to library materials for people who serve the town.

“It is really a way to say thank you to first responders for what they give to the community,” Warner said.