Task Force Report Presented to Library Board of Trustees

Since the Saucon Valley Library Task Force presented its final report to the Lower Saucon Township and Hellertown Borough councils, the question on many minds has been: When would a library switch happen, if it were to happen?

The task force concluded in its final report--which was issued in August and is available online--that it is feasible for Lower Saucon Township to join with the Hellertown Area Library for library services, although the report doesn't make recommendations one way or the other.

The township currently contracts for library services on an annual basis with the Bethlehem Area Public Library; an institution it's had a relationship with since 1968.

On Aug. 28, members of the task force made their last presentation of the final report to the Hellertown Area Library’s Board of Trustees, and trustees discussed the library's role in the review process. 

Referring to the possibility that Lower Saucon Township could switch from the BAPL to the HAL with a new agreement, trustee member Jessica Goedtel said that HAL “would be last in the decision-making process.”

Task force chairperson Kim LaBrake agreed.

“Right, if one or both of them (Lower Saucon Township and Hellertown Borough) back out, we are not part of the decision-making process,” she said.

HAL director Robin Rotherham pointed out that the library needs to make its own evaluations in relation to the final report.

"We also need to decide if we want to take on 10,000 more people," she said.

"The year three cost (outlined in the potential merger plan) is less per capita than the borough of Hellertown is paying now," she added. "Right now they are paying $10.65 per head and this takes the rate way below that. You’re asking me to take a step backwards, to take $4 per head."

Goedtel said she wouldn’t mind seeing a slight drop in the per capita rate because overall library funding would be increased.

"But," she said, "I think we should have at least one representative present to discuss these concerns. We should be involved in that conversation."

As for the timeline for the decisions, LaBrake said she had not yet received any questions from the councils.

Hellertown councilman and task force member Joe Pampanin explained that “probably, the expectations for the borough would be similar to the (regional) police study--there would be a representative from the borough and the board to go through these negotiations."

Pampanin also questioned Rotherham regarding a question raised when the task force presented the final report to Lower Saucon Township Council.

He said he wanted to know if HAL’s estimate of the cost of the Proquest database was based on post-merger figures, and Rotherham explained that it was.

"We actually had a free trial up on our website for a month to see if it was being utilized," she said. "That would be able to be used by everyone. You wouldn’t even need to have a blue sticker."

BAPL restricts the use of online information databases to library cardholders with blue stickers, which indicate that those patrons live within a library-supporting municipality.

"BAPL is saying (HAL) could never afford these databases, but they are serving a much larger population and we would be paying less because the cost is per capita," Rotherham said.

Rotherham said that larger libraries have a consortium that allows them to negotiate pricing, so BAPL may be getting a better rate based on their much larger service population. However, the per capita price is not actually out of reach for the smaller libraries, she said.

Goedtel said that HAL had tried to join the library consortium, but was declined.

After the task force members finished their presentation, the board discussed some of the upcoming fundraisers for the library.

The library will host its first annual ‘Get Bookin’ 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, Sept. 29 from 8 to 11am. The race will start and end at the library.

The library has also started making plans for its 20th anniversary next year, which could include a large fundraiser called the Birthday Blowout Bash.