Moina Noor, president of the Norwalk Public Library board, asked the committee to recommend to the full Common Council that the History Room at 1 Belden Ave. be named in honor of Ralph C. Bloom and that the committee schedule a public hearing on the request.

"This honor would recognize mister Bloom's foundational role in establishing and maintaining the History Room and acknowledge his nearly 40 years of service as Norwalk's official city historian," Noor said during the Nov. 5 meeting.

Alex Knopf, former mayor and former president of the library board, and Patsy Brescia, vice president of the library board, described Bloom's longtime work with the Friends of the Library, annual book sales and the library's archives and collections. Knopf said Bloom helped the library distribute thousands of free books and supported purchases such as a library van and facility improvements.

Committee members asked about the library board's internal vetting process for naming requests; Noor said the board discussed the nomination and voted unanimously to forward it to the committee. Members also noted an existing municipal ordinance that generally requires a person to be deceased at least one year before a facility or space is named for them unless the Common Council approves an exception by a two-thirds vote.

The committee voted unanimously to move the item to a public hearing scheduled for the committee's December meeting on Dec. 3, 2025. Committee members said staff will confirm the exact wording to use in the public-notice posting so the hearing notice matches the name presented to the council.

If the Common Council later approves the naming, staff said the item will be processed according to the ordinance and the council will determine whether the naming should be a straightforward naming or one that includes language acknowledging Bloom's role in establishing the room.