The nine branch locations are named Albany, Barbour, Blue Hills, Camp Field, Dwight, Goodwin, Mark Twain, Park and Ropkins.

In 1842, Daniel Wadsworth offered the Young Men's Institute a stake in what he hoped would become the cultural center of Hartford.

One of the Institute's most prominent librarians from 1846-1868, essayist Henry M. Bailey wrote in 1850 Thoughts in a Library about the mood there: "It is a stormy evening: the rain patters on the roof and beats against the windows.

All without is cold and cheerless, all within is pleasant and cheerful..."[1] In 1875, the Young Men's Institute hired Caroline Hewins as its head librarian.

Henry Ward Beecher, Samuel Clemens, Charles Dudley Warner and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

A request for funds went out to city residents so that the building could be modified with a new library wing added to the back of the original structure.

Contributions were made by the employees of Colt's, Sigourney Tool, Case, Lockwood and Brainard Co., Atlantic Screw Works, and many other factories.

Designed by Schutz and Goodwin, the 94,448-square-foot (8,774.5 m2) building at 500 Main Street included modern reading and reference rooms.

It is the library's specialized collection focused on the story of Hartford: its history, its authors, architecture, photographs, pamphlets, periodicals, books, postcards, trade publications, city directories, prints, posters and memorabilia.