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Fairfield filmmaker zooms in on Darien Library

Best in show: Documentary wins award for Fairfield's Manny Perez
Christina Hennessy, Stamford Advocate
Updated 9:42 am, Saturday, March 12, 2011

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  • Alan Gray, assistant director of operations the Darien Library, shows off a projector in the conference and board room, one of many new additions that has been enjoyed by the public since the new library building opened in 2009. That story of how a state-of-the-art institution came to be, after a 10-year effort, has been documented by filmmaker Manny Perez's with his work, 'The Darien Library: The Great Good Place.' Photo: File Photo / Stamford Advocate File Photo

    Alan Gray, assistant director of operations the Darien Library, shows off a projector in the conference and board room, one of many new additions that has been enjoyed by the public since the new library building opened in 2009. That story of how a state-of-the-art institution came to be, after a 10-year effort, has been documented by filmmaker Manny Perez's with his work, 'The Darien Library: The Great Good Place.'

    Photo: File Photo

 

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Most people who visit the Darien Library leave with a book, a movie or perhaps a flyer or two of some community event. Manny Perez left with an idea.

"First of all, I was taken aback by the building and all these wonderful toys," said Perez, 68, in recalling his first visit to the 54,000 square-foot building, which opened Jan. 10, 2009.

Not only was new technology, such as the automated book return, commanding this longtime advertising executive's attention, he also realized the organic help was just as dazzling.

"There were all these librarians, and they impressed me immediately for their genuine friendliness," Perez said during an interview at his Fairfield home.

Spurred to learn more, Perez logged onto the library's website and learned that it had taken 10 years of planning, five years of design, two years of construction and $27 million ($24 million of it in private donations) to replace the former library with this new state-of-the- art building. It was a remarkable achievement, he said, for a town of about 20,000 people.

"I was intrigued by the story and thought there was something I could do here," he said.

So, he set out to tell the story, on film. He wanted to show that it was a model example of how libraries had increasingly become social centers -- places where you could as easily check out a book, as you could watch a film, listen to a best-selling author, conduct a job search or meet a friend for coffee.

Manny "very much became part of the library family," said Alan Gray, assistant director of operations. "He worked here almost every day for nearly a year. He really was indistinguishable from people who work here. And that's what you have to be to get into it as deeply as he did."

The end result is the 2010 documentary, "Darien Library: The Great Good Place," which has earned the Connecticut Library Association's Best In Show Award. That honor, along with other awards earned by libraries across the state, will be presented during the association's 120th annual conference May 2 and 3 at the Stamford Hilton.

Other local winners include the Ferguson Library for its newsletter, the DiMenna-Nyselius Library at Fairfield University and the Westport Library for some print projects, and the Pequot Library in Fairfield for its website.

"It offers a wonderful opportunity to recognize excellence in library outreach," said Debbie Herman, library association president.

The awards focus on publicity efforts, given the challenges libraries face with finding dollars to devote to advertising.

"They have to be creative in how they reach out," Herman said.

Perez is well aware of the power of advertising. For three decades, he worked for one of the world's largest advertising agencies, Young and Rubicam, having ascended to the post of executive creative director by the time he retired.

He led a team of 40 to 50 people as they created print and television advertising with messages and images that would become associated with many of the world's largest brands, including Kodak and United Airlines.

But before he ever directed and produced commercials for large corporations, he exhibited his creativity on a smaller scale.

Growing up in Newburgh, N.Y., he took every chance to capture images on the small camera he received as a 6-year-old. A year earlier, his dad had given him a toy film projector.

"I used to play director, and I'd get a bunch of kids around," he said. "It was not always the safest thing, I imagine. Getting them to jump off trees and things like that."

An ROTC student, he graduated in 1962 with a bachelor's degree in clinical psychology from the University of Rochester and immediately began serving as a naval officer in the midst of the Vietnam War. He was sent to San Francisco, where he boarded a ship headed to the South China Sea.

From 1962 to 1965, his served as a nuclear weapons officer, as well as public information officer, which allowed him to return to his earlier passion of film and photography. He worked to build a closed-circuit television station onboard and would occasionally host newscasters, such as Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather.

In 1966, he went to work for the U.S. Navy at its Naval Photographic Center, in Washington, D.C., which houses its film archives. With help from young, aspiring filmmakers, he set up the agency's motion picture production operation, utilizing the resources that had been created to serve the armed forces during World War II. For the next three years, he oversaw the making of many films, including those for recruiting and for posterity.

"There was this studio filled with equipment and sound stages and laboratories," he said. "I learned the craft of filmmaking in the Navy."

And these days, it is filmmaking to which Perez returns. It is part of a progression that has been somewhat of a sabbatical, since he left New York City for the suburbs in 2001. He and his wife, Janet, lived in Rowayton and Darien before moving with their daughter to Fairfield last year. Perez also has an older son.

Perez learned a strong work ethic early, working summers stitching pockets -- his mother was a seamstress -- and working in construction with his father.

It was the same way he approached the 50-minute film, which is produced by his company Alexandria Productions. He volunteered his time and expertise to the yearlong project, but earned a lot in return, he said, including invaluable experience.

"It's coming full circle," he said. "It's fun to be able to use the things you have learned and the mistakes you have made to get back into the game and apply it."

He said he is happy to have shared the story of a little library that could.

"When I started, they asked me, `do you have a script,' and I said, ... `I'm going to conduct enough interviews and ask enough questions that you are going to tell the story.' "

The film features many faces, including longtime director Louise Berry, staff and building team members, area leaders and users, as well as Berry's husband, John, who is the Library Journal's editor-at-large. He serves as narrator.

Those interviewed reference the idea of "the great good place," which is the title of a book by Ray Oldenburg. This place is a space that is not home or work, but rather a center that serves as the heart of a community.

Libraries are busy places, with complex operations and diverse patrons, both of which require a service-oriented and dedicated staff, which is what Perez's film conveys, said assistant director Gray.

That team approach impressed Perez from the start.

"They never stopped, no matter the hurdles ... and I admired that," he said. "I'm the same way, I guess. If I have a dream, I stick with it until it is done."

-- Staff Writer Christina Hennessy can be reached at christina.hennessy@scni.com or 203-964-2241.

- The video may be viewed at the Darien Library website (www.darienlibrary.org/greatgoodplace) and on video-sharing websites, such as Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/16708861).

 
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