Library Task Force Discusses Interim Meeting

The Saucon Valley Library Task Force met May 10 for the first time since its  and discussed the many points raised by community members. Robin Rotherham, Director of the , opened the discussion.

“During the meeting I listened to many shortcomings of the Hellertown library; a lot of those were emotional rather than a failing of the library itself," Rotherham said. "The remarks that relate to library service--that is what I want to address.”

A few people at the interim meeting expressed the opinion that the Hellertown library has a small town feel--which is understandable since Hellertown is much smaller than Bethlehem--and Rotherham said she doesn’t think the library's smallness is necessarily a bad thing.

“It’s a small district. Just because we’re small doesn’t mean we don’t give good service,” she said.

While the Bethlehem Area Public Library may have a larger collection and a more cosmopolitan feel to it, the HAL offers more personalized service catered specifically to its patrons needs, some of the task force members said.

“A lot of people like that Robin knows their card number by heart," task force member Jessica Goedtel said. "It depends on what you’re looking for--it’s a very personalized service.”

Another concern raised by some community members at the interim public meeting was the potential loss of the BAPL Bookmobile service.

Rotherham, however, announced that the HAL has received a grant that will enable staff to deliver on-site lending services.

“We’re very excited about that," she said. "We’re going to be able to take books to .”

Another major concern of some township residents is that there may be fewer library resources available to them if Lower Saucon decides to support HAL.

Task force member Joe Pampanin pointed out that the Hellertown Area Library "already serves a significant portion of Lower Saucon Township residents.

"With a merger the services would definitely increase beyond that--beyond the portion already using the services,” he said.

Task force chair Kim LaBrake added that there are roughly 30,000 checkouts by local residents from each library, which means that even though Hellertown is smaller it is receiving nearly the same amount of checkout traffic.

Task force member Allan Johnson took a middle-of-the-road stance in the discussion.

“You have to look at the service provided at the library," he said. "Some people are so caught up in cost efficiency, and that’s not the thing. The thing is service, and in our case some people want to use (HAL) and some want to use BAPL and I think that’s what we’re going to have to do."

"It was  (between the two libraries) and that seems like it shouldn’t be a difficult thing to do--to share money," Johnson added. "I think the solution to all of this is to share the money."

He also noted that, "right now BAPL has been deciding how much should be spent on libraries and (Lower Saucon Township) may have a different idea of what services should cost."

The next Saucon Valley Library Task Force meeting will be held at 6pm Thursday, June 14 in the .