[This post is a reprint of our special year-end issue of BELONG, our electronic newsletter.
If you’d like to subscribe to receive issues in your inbox, please enter your email address
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Happy Holidays! Before we close the cover on 2018, I want to share some highlights and tell you about an exciting change coming in 2019, plus how you can help us end the year on a high note. Thanks for reading!
Maryellen Kanarr, director
- The year in review
- New library cards coming in 2019!
- So much more than books
- How you can support the library
- Help us end 2018 on a high note
A look back at a great year
We broke new ground this year in more ways than one…
(click to enlarge)
Eight months of construction led to a beautiful new children’s wing and teen space, which in turn allowed us to create a new adult reading lounge (soon to be enhanced by a Friends’ book-sale nook). The big reveals in November included a ribbon-cutting ceremony and an open house with Clifford the Big Red Dog!
Along with the physical changes, we added nearly 2,000 items to our collection and held more than 300 events this year. More patrons visited the library and took part in Summer Reading Clubs than ever before (see ‘2018 by the numbers’ – click to enlarge).
In June, we transitioned 90,000+ items and 13,000+ patron accounts to a new circulation system called SPARK, joining 10 other libraries in Lehigh and Carbon counties to create a collaborative that will bring you better service, more efficiency, and new ‘one for all’ library cards in 2019! (more below).
We shared great times with you at community events including SnowBlast, Vera Cruz Annual Community Day, the Emmaus Halloween Parade, Emmaus Heritage Festival, and Old-Fashioned Christmas — and we participated in the Main Street Partners Christmas window display.
We celebrated first responders at our 18th annual Community Heroes Day and took part in the Emmaus and Macungie Farmer’s Markets, school open houses, Emmaus Rotary and Kiwanis meetings, and of course, summer pool parties at the Emmaus Community and Macungie Park pools!
We offered free seed packets through our ‘seed-lending’ program and teamed up with Plant-A-Row to share the harvest. We were a collection site for Toys for Tots and provided space for a new Share the Warmth winter coat project. And, we added a book drop at the Upper Milford township building so area residents can save time and gas by avoiding a trip to the library.
We created a new look for our event flyers and launched a blog and the BELONG newsletter to go in-depth and give you more ways to stay connected, along with our website and active Facebook page (… check out our photo albums there for more of this year’s fun pics).
It was truly a fantastic year and we’re fortunate to be part of such a wonderful community. Thank you for your support and you patience with our expansion and SPARK migration. We look forward to making more great memories — and a little less noise and dust — next year!
New library cards coming in 2019!
The new year is going to bring more than cold weather, snow and tax season.
Starting in February, you’ll be able to ‘trade up’ to a brand new library card that will be good at 11 libraries in Lehigh and Carbon counties. You’ll be able to borrow items from any of the libraries without having multiple barcodes (or cards). If you’re a new patron, you’ll be able to register at any of the libraries, and you won’t have to renew multiple cards at several libraries when they expire. Plus, you’ll be able to request items from any of the libraries and have them available for pickup at your local library in 24 hours!
Almost best of all, you’ll also get a keytag so you can carry your library card on your keychain if you like.
Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks!
So much more than just books
Nearly every day, a patron who hasn’t been to the library in a while tells us they’re amazed at everything we offer. It’s true — libraries are known first and foremost for good old-fashioned books, magazines and newspapers — but there’s a whole lot more to be found at EPL these days — and it’s all free (with only printing, copying and faxing as exceptions for a low fee). We also have:
- Thousands of audiobooks, DVDs and music CDs
- Digital books, audiobooks and magazines for your phone, PC or mobile device
- Public access computers (15+)
- Internet access and Wi-Fi
- iPads for in-library use
- ‘Book Totes‘ (book club kits) for hosting your own book club
- Museum passes to local museums
- Puzzles to borrow, as well as a ‘community puzzle’ always in progress
- Fruit and vegetable seed packets
- One-on-one help with research or information needs through Book-a-Librarian
- Charging stations for your phone or mobile device
- Document scanning
- Small room rental (max of 5 people) for meetings or private tutoring
- Summer Reading Clubs for kids and adults with free books and prizes
- One-on-one help and expert advice with researching your family tree
- More than 300 events a year including book clubs, craft parties, storytimes, authors and speakers, STEM fun, movie screenings and more.
- Access to dozens of databases, including Ancestry.com library edition, Rosetta Stone, World Book Web, Law Depot, Brainfuse, HeritageQuest, NoveList, and more online learning tools.
All way cheaper than Amazon Prime or Netflix!
How you can support the Emmaus Public Library
If you’ve read this far, you can probably tell that our staff and volunteers were a busy bunch this year — and we want to do even more to serve you in 2019. In addition to continuing to add new items and offering great events, the patron ‘wish list’ for next year includes more seating and a Keurig hot-beverage machine for public use. Those wishes and more require funds.
The Emmaus Public Library receives approximately 65% of its annual operating funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and from the municipalities it serves (Emmaus and Macungie Boroughs and Upper Milford Township); nearly 10% comes from the dedication, hard work and generosity of The Friends of the Emmaus Public Library. The remaining 25% of operating funding must come from generous donors, patrons, and sponsors.
Here are some ways you can support the library and its mission to enrich our community and inspire lifelong learning by uniting people, ideas and information:
Make a one-time donation or set up an automatic monthly donation for any amount through PayPal to spread payments throughout the year [**note:** if the PayPal ‘token’ has expired by the time you read this, visit our website and look for the link along the left-hand column]. If everyone reading this sets up even a $5-$10/month contribution, we’ll be well on our way to being fully funded next year.- Write a check to the Emmaus Public Library (add ‘annual fund’ to the memo line) and drop it by or mail it to us at 11 E. Main St., Emmaus, PA 18049.
- Drop cash donations or spare change in our donation box at the front desk.
If you shop at Amazon, use Amazon Smile and choose Emmaus Public Library to have the library receive a small percentage of your purchase at no cost to you.- Purchase and donate an item from our Amazon eclectic wish list or games wish list for library events.
- Donate gift cards to purchase craft or office supplies, or to be used as prizes for Summer Reading Clubs.
- Join The Friends of the Emmaus Public Library for as little as $10 a year and help organize events such as the annual spring book sale.
- Donate your time and talents to the library by becoming one of our awesome volunteers. Stop at the desk and ask for a Volunteer Interest Form.
- Clean out your bookshelf and donate books, DVDs, CDs or puzzles in good condition to be added to our collection or sold by The Friends of the Emmaus Public Library.
Help us end the year on a high note
At a time of the year when many of us watch the classic movie ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ we invite you to ponder what life would have been like this year (or would be like next year) without the Emmaus Public Library and all the great things it offers — access to a world of information, free entertainment, and most of all, a wonderful place to make new friends!
