Reduced Hours

Starting in the new year, the library will close an hour earlier each weeknight. Based on the 2012 budget approved by the Board of Supervisors, the reduction in hours is part of a Township-wide series of cost-cutting efforts. Shortening the operating hours during the week will allow us to maintain our weekend availability.

The new winter schedule is as follows:

Mon - Thurs: 9.30 am - 8.00 pm
Fri: 9.30 am - 5.00 pm
Sat: 9.30 am - 5.00 pm
Sun: 1.00 pm - 5.00 pm

Any questions may be directed to Barbara Ellis, director of library services, at 533-6555 x3715 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Goodsearch

We are proud to announce that the Hershey Public Library now partners with the Goodsearch program, a program which allows non-profit organizations to raise money when patrons search the Internet.

Whenever you see

you can click the image to earn money for HPL when you search the Internet. Search results are powered by Yahoo, so they are quite reliable. If you were going to search the Internet anyway, why not help out a good cause - your local library.

For the details: How does Goodsearch work?

PA Legislature to Vote on Budget this week

Glenn Miller, Executive Director of PA Library Association writes:

May, 24, 2011….Hershey Public Library…

A vote on the 2011-12 state budget is expected this week in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Your help is needed.

Your state representative needs to be reminded of the importance of library services supported by state funding, and that you support the library portion of the state budget under consideration in Harrisburg. Here’s a link (http://www.capwiz.com/ala/pa/home/) so that you can quickly and easily send an email to your state representative.

Background
You’ll recall that Governor Corbett’s budget proposal largely sustains state support for library services at levels almost equal to this current year. Here’s a chart showing recent state funding for library services: http://palibraries.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=406
In this economy still recovering from a deep recession, and after two years of state cuts totaling more than one-third, largely sustaining library funding for next year would be a good outcome.

Last week, the Republicans, who hold the majority in the State House, took the Governor’s proposal and, while maintaining his no-tax pledge, re-shaped his budget plan adding back more than $200 million for school districts, and restoring more than $380 million for higher education. For state support for library services, the House Republican plan—House Bill 1485—recommends funding at the same levels recommended by Governor Corbett.

A vote by the full PA House of Representatives is the next step, and HB 1485 is poised for this vote during the week of May 23. The budget will only be final when approved also by the State Senate and the Governor.

We recognize that this budget is not perfect and that other cuts at the state and local level may still adversely impact library services at colleges and universities, at school libraries, and at public libraries that receive significant local support through school district budgets. At the same time, we also recognize that securing this amount of library funding from the state level at a time when the overall state budget is shrinking by $700 million is no small feat. The credit for this positive news in an otherwise difficult year goes to the many, many energetic and passionate advocates who carry the library message.

We’ll keep you posted on the next steps. Thanks for your great advocacy and for contacting your state representative.

Stan Ginder (1939-2011)

With profound sorrow, we must announce the death of our employee, Stan Ginder, at the all-too-young age of 71.
Stan was a fixture at the Hershey Library for the past decade. You may not have seen him often, but you experienced his efforts: a well-lit environment, safe entryways (just think of all the snow and ice...), clean fixtures, empty recycling bins, and did we mention heating and air-conditioning?
Stan performed his job at 1,000%, every day. He was never scheduled for weekends, but not a Saturday or Sunday went by when he didn't stop in to make sure everything was working or to bring in newspapers or to set up for an event.
Long will we miss and remember him.

Library Funding Crisis- How You Can Help

How Important Are Libraries to You and Your Family?

Proposed cuts in library funding will affect important services such as shared databases (POWER Library), interlibrary loan, and Ask Here PA, the state’s virtual reference service. Additionally, Governor Rendell’s budget proposal (H.B. 1416) cuts will cost Pennsylvania over $900,000 in lost federal funds. The Senate Republican House budget proposal (S.B. 850) goes even farther, slashing library funding by over $50,000,000 and costing almost $4,000,000 in loss of federal funds. Were this bill to become law, books, DVDs, access to computers, lending between libraries, online databases, programs for kids, and professional staff would be drastically reduced or eliminated. In short, it would be a disaster for Pennsylvanians who depend on good quality libraries.