news

Local Author to Visit Richland Community Library

Three Faiths in One World Lecture at Myerstown Community Library

Old World Folk Band to Perform in Lebanon for One Book, One Community Campaign

One Book, One Community: Our Region Reads. Book Title Announcement

One Book, One Community Reading Campaign Will Launch August 26

Celebrate National Library Week at the Lebanon County Libraries

Lebanon Libraries Chill Out With One Book Every Young Child Book Selection

YouTube Channel a Hit for Matthews Library

Get Carded Campaign Results

Afterschool Program Returns to the Richland Library

Lebanon County Libraries Kick Off Library Card Sign Up Month Campaign

Money’s Tight, but Price is Right at Area Free Libraries
Lebanon Daily News article

Libraries Rally Community Support for Library Card Sign Up Month

Local Author to Visit Richland Library

(Richland, PA, Nov. 4, 2009) – Robert C. Vogel, author of A Way Home and A Way Home II: Resolution, will sign books at Richland Community Library on Tuesday, November 10 from 6 pm to 8 pm.

A Myerstown resident, Vogel published his first novel, A Way Home, in 2007.

In Vogel’s recently published A Way Home II: Resolution, he continues the story of the characters in A Way Home, weaving a tale of intrigue and suspense with underlying themes of faith, family, love and redemption.

Vogel is retired after a career in education and sales training and management. He is active in his church as a Eucharistic Minister and Lector. He and his wife Judy reside in Myerstown near their three children and six grandchildren.

Visitors can buy copies of the book at the library event. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the library.

# # #

 
Myerstown Library Hosts
One Book Regional Reading Program Lecture

Myerstown, PA —Thomas Maiello, dean of admissions at Evangelical Theology Seminary, will present "Three Faiths in One World" at Myerstown Community Library on October 27 at 7:00 p.m.  The lecture is part of local programming for the regional reading campaign One Book, One Community: Our Region Reads.

Maiello will concentrate on the interactions among the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian religions in the world Geraldine Brooks presents in the One Book One Community selection People of the Book.

People of the Book is an intricate, ambitious novel that traces the journey of a rare illuminated Hebrew manuscript (Haggadah) from Spain to the ruins of Sarajevo. Inspired by the true story of a mysterious codex known as the Sarajevo Haggadah, People of the Book is a sweeping adventure through five centuries of history. The Sarajevo Haggadah survived centuries of purges and wars thanks to people of all faiths who risked their lives to safeguard it. 

For more information, contact Linda Manwiller, library director, at 717-866-2800.  The library is located at 199 N. College Street in Myerstown.

# # #

 
One Book, One Community Campaign To Host
Old World Folk Band Regional Programs

Lebanon, PA -- The Old World Folk Band, based in Harrisburg, PA, will present special regional programs in seven counties in celebration of this year’s One Book, One Community book, People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks. Programs will take place during October and November.

The Lebanon County Library System will present the first of seven regional programs on October 7 at 7 PM at Beth Israel Synagogue located at Eighth and Oak Streets in Lebanon, PA.

The talented musicians and educators in the band will present a program that will make People of the Book come alive to all who attend. The presentation will include an explanation of the Haggadah (a prayer book used in the Passover celebration) and its interpretation in different cultural settings across time. Examples of illustrated Haggadahs from around the world will be available for examination.

Susan Leviton will also demonstrate the art of Hebrew hand-lettering with a special emphasis on the style of the Sarajevo Hagaddah, comparing it with Hebrew lettering arts from other geographic regions.  Like art and writing, music reflects different cultures and times. The presenters will demonstrate how culture is preserved and passed down through time and how people in disparate cultures and faiths act both simply and heroically to preserve music and the arts.  There will also be opportunities for participants to share their own experiences.

The band will perform music representing different periods evoked in People of the Book, including a Judeo-Spanish Passover song from Sarajevo and a Yiddish Passover song about a family of crypto-Jews who escaped the Spanish Inquisition.

The Old World Folk Band has performed Klezmer and Eastern European folk music educating audiences in the northeast U.S. for 28 years. The band’s singer, Susan Leviton, is known nationally for her skills and work as a calligrapher in the Jewish tradition. 

Major sponsors of One Book, One Community are WGAL TV 8, the Robert H. & Beverly U. Fowler Family Foundation, Isaac’s Restaurant and Deli, Giant Foods, K&L Gates LLP, and ShowcasePA! Magazine. Glatfelter, a local paper company, is providing copies of this year’s book for outreach purposes throughout the seven counties. Funding for the Old World Folk Band is provided in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

One Book, One Community --- now in its seventh year---is led by libraries in Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York.  The regional reading campaign is intended to promote the value of reading by recommending a compelling book that links the community in a common conversation. To learn more about One Book, One Community visit the website at www.oboc.org.

# # #

One Book, One Community: Our Region Reads!
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
People of the Book

# # #
One Book, One Community Reading Campaign
Will Launch August 26

LEBANON, PA — August 4, 2009 — Public libraries in Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York counties will officially launch the 2009 One Book, One Community: Our Region Reads annual regional reading campaign at a special news conference on Wednesday, August 26th at 4:00 pm at the Palmyra Public Library, 325 S. Railroad Street, Palmyra, PA 17078 (Lebanon County), PA.  The 2009 book title will be announced at this event where an informal reception will follow. 

One Book, One Community is led by libraries in seven counties and encourages residents in the multi-county area to read the same book in September and October.  Readers can discuss the book and learn more about it and its author by attending free area programs and book discussions at the libraries and other locations during the month of October.  There will also be special programs related to this year’s book title held at libraries throughout the region during September and October.

Refreshments for the informal reception will be provided by Isaac’s Restaurant & Deli.
Following the kick-off event, the book can be borrowed at any of the 72 participating libraries or may be purchased at area Walden Books, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Borders, Giant Food Stores, Weis Markets, Wegman’s Stores and other local booksellers.
 
Major sponsors ofOne Book, One Community are WGAL TV 8, the Robert H. & Beverly U. Fowler Family Foundation, Lois Lehrman Grass Foundation, Isaac’s Restaurant and Deli, Giant Foods, K&L Gates LLP, and ShowcasePA! Magazine. Glatfelter, a local paper company, is providing copies of this year’s book for outreach purposes throughout the seven counties.

The regional reading campaign is intended to promote the value of reading by recommending a compelling book that links the community in a common conversation. Several communities across the country have initiated “One Book” efforts, but One Book, One Community is the largest such effort in Pennsylvania. To learn more about One Book, One Community visit the website at www.oboc.org.

# # #


Worlds Connect @ Your Library: Celebrate National Library Week
at the Lebanon County Libraries, April 12-18

(Lebanon, PA) – It’s National Library Week, a time to celebrate the contributions of libraries, librarians and library workers in schools, campuses and communities nationwide -  and the perfect time to discover how worlds connect @ your library.

The Lebanon County Libraries are celebrating National Library Week by inviting community members to visit and learn more about the many free resources available at the six county libraries.

“Everyday, libraries in big cities and small towns, colleges and universities, in schools and in businesses help transform their communities,” said Anne Hall, Community Relations Coordinator.  “At our libraries, people of all backgrounds come together for community meetings, lectures and programs, to do research, to get help finding a job or to find homework help. We hear so many wonderful stories about how people connect by using their libraries.”

Just the other week, Hall said, a soldier was visiting one of the libraries and was delighted to discover that he could download free audio books using the libraries’ web site from anywhere in the world. The soldier, scheduled for a return tour of duty in Iraq, said this service would really help his morale while serving overseas.

A grandmother told Lebanon librarians that by using the Skype service at the library she connects with her granddaughter who lives in Denver, CO. From a Lebanon County library, the grandmother reads a story to her granddaughter who listens at a computer in a Denver library. Skype is a free Internet video/phone service.

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. 

For more information, visit the Lebanon County Library System web site at www.lclibs.org or visit one of the six county libraries: Annville Free Library, Lebanon Community Library, Matthews Public Library, Myerstown Community Library, Palmyra Public Library, Richland Community Library

###

One Book Every Young Child Program
Lebanon County Libraries Host Author Visits and Events In April

LEBANON, PA—March 4, 2009—If You Were a Penguin, a picture book for children ages three to six, is Pennsylvania's One Book, Every Young Child program selection for 2009. As part of a statewide tour, author Florence Minor and illustrator Wendell Minor will visit the Annville Free Library and the Palmyra Public Library on April 3.

The Lebanon County Libraries will also hold penguin-themed activities and events throughout April for children and their parents.

This brand new book was released in December and lets children use their imaginations as they step inside a penguin's world.

According to the book’s publisher, “Wendell and Florence Minor create a charming tribute to all the playful fun and activity that comes with being a penguin—which young readers can delight in too!”

For the fourth year, the One Book Every Young Child program will highlight the importance of early literacy development in preschoolers.

One Book, Every Young Child information and program ideas have been developed by librarians and museum educators from across Pennsylvania to promote the value and benefits of reading early and often to preschoolers and to encourage family bonding through books and reading.

The program won the coveted national John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award in its inaugural year.

There also will be traveling trunks developed by museum educators to help expand upon the concepts in If You Were a Penguin.

Each trunk is filled with book-related puppets, games and toys for young children, as well as a guide for librarians and educators that encourages use of the trunk contents in activities that align with the Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards.

One Book, Every Young Child is made possible through a collaboration of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, Please Touch Museum, State Museum of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Library Association, Pennsylvania Public Television Network, Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children, The Pennsylvania Child Care Association, PennSERVE, HSLC/Access PA and Verizon.
WEB SITE: http://www.paonebook.org/

###

YouTube Channel a Hit for Local Library

Librarian Shares Video Marketing Success
Story at the Pennsylvania Library Association Conference

FREDERICKSBURG, PA—November 10, 2008—Sheila  Redcay, director of the Matthews Public Library in Fredericksburg, Lebanon County and recipient of the Marketing for Lifelong Learning Award, shared her YouTube marketing success story with colleagues from across the state this week at the Pennsylvania Library Association’s annual conference in King of Prussia, Pa.

Two years after Redcay discovered YouTube, she was recognized for her use of the online video sharing medium. The Office of Commonwealth Libraries gave the Marketing for Lifelong Learning Award to three libraries that did an “outstanding job of promoting the library as the place for lifelong learning.”

Redcay told conference attendees that after discovering YouTube, she started to think of ways for the library to tell its story through video. She and her staff created and uploaded their first YouTube video one year ago.

Redcay said that one of the library’s first videos was a recorded book review of author John Connolly’s Charlie Parker book series. Within 48 hours of posting the video on YouTube, Redcay was contacted by the author, who then featured it on his web site.

Redcay said, “the library’s YouTube channel is intended to add to library services, not replace them.”

In addition to book reviews, the library’s videos include general library information, a quiz game that involves library patrons, children’s craft demonstrations (based on a craft book), a recorded video book, and recordings of community events, such as the Lebanon County Fair and Fredericksburg’s Hinklefest.

The Matthews Library videos can be viewed at www.youtube.com/matthewslibrary.

###

top

Get Carded Campaign Draws New Library Users

Library System Registers More Than
400 New Members in September

More than 400 Lebanon County residents signed up for library cards during the library system's month-long "Get Carded" campaign in September!

The libraries expect more enrollments throughout October as area residents and workers complete applications that were provided by Lebanon County businesses, schools, and places of worship.

Representatives of the Lebanon County Library System said that community support for Library Card Sign Up Month was "phenomenal."

###

top

Lebanon County Libraries Kick Off
Library Card Sign Up Month Campaign

Get Carded @ Lebanon County Libraries

Lebanon, PA – September, 2008 – September is Library Card Sign-up Month, and the Lebanon County libraries kicked off a month-long campaign, “Get Carded @ Lebanon County Libraries,” on September 4, 2008 at the Lebanon Community Library.


Lebanon County Librarians Celebrate National Library Card Sign Up Month

The six county libraries are actively soliciting new library patrons with community-wide support from local officials, businesses, schools, and churches.

To date, seven local governments in Lebanon County have issued Library Card Sign Up Month proclamations. Businesses and schools are lending a hand by inserting library information and registration forms in their payroll inserts, and churches are including this information in their bulletins.

As an incentive, each library in the county is offering new registrants a chance to win an MP3 player.

Studies show that children who are read to in the home and who use the library perform better in school and are more likely to continue to use the library as a source of lifetime learning.

“A library card has always been the most important school supply of all,” says Jayne Tremaine, Lebanon County Library System Administrator.  “Kids can come to the library to get homework help and check out books, but they can also check out free music, DVDs and use the Internet. There’s a lot happening at the Lebanon County Libraries.”

A recent study by the American Library Association also showed that families use libraries to spend time together. Forty-four percent of survey respondents report taking their children to the library for this reason.

In addition, Lebanon County library card holders have access to a variety of free online resources, including WORLD BOOK Online Reference Center, Access PA POWER Library databases, standardized test resources, an online live reference chat, downloadable audio books, and a genealogy research tool.

The Lebanon County Library System is comprised of six community libraries: the Annville Free Library, Lebanon Community Library, Matthews Public Library, Myerstown Community Library, Palmyra Public Library, and the Richland Community Library.

### 

top

Libraries Rally Community Support for
Library Card Sign Up Month

LEBANON, PA – September, 2008 –Lebanon County businesses, places of worship, schools, and local governments are supporting the Lebanon County Library System's month-long campaign to get area residents equipped with library cards.

Businesses and schools are inserting registration forms in their payroll envelopes, and churches are getting the word out through bulletins.

To date, seven local governments have issued proclamations declaring September as “Library Card Sign Up Month.” The City of Lebanon, Myerstown Borough, South Lebanon Township, Bethel Township, North Londonderry Township, South Londonderry Township, and Palmyra Borough have passed proclamations in recent meetings.

The library system expects more local proclamations to come throughout September.

The “Get Carded” campaign will run in concert with National Library Card Sign Up Month.
The observance was launched in 1987 to meet the challenge of then Secretary of Education William J. Bennett who said: "Let's have a national campaign...every child should obtain a library card - and use it."

Lebanon’s local libraries offer books, DVDs, audio books, research tools, computers, and online access to a wide assortment of educational resources – all free to library cardholders.

Community Participants
Commonwealth of PA House of Representatives
Local Governments issuing Proclamations
Sample Proclamation

###

top

Businesses/Employers

ASK Foods
Bayer Healthcare
Boscov's
Brentwood Industries
Cornwall Manor
Kapp Advertising
Lebanon Federal Credit Union
Lebanon City
Lebanon County
Lebanon Valley College
Northwest Savings Bank
Milprint
Swiss Premium Dairy, LLC
VA Medical Center
Wal-Mart



Schools

Annville-Cleona School District
Cornwall Lebanon School District
Eastern Lebanon County School District
Lebanon School District
Lebanon Catholic
Lebanon Christian Academy
Northern Lebanon School District
Palmyra Area School District

Places of Worship

Beth Israel Synagogue Center
Bethany United Methodist Church
Campbelltown United Methodist Church
First Evangelical Congregation
First Evangelical Congregational Church
First United Methodist Church
Grace United Church of Christ
Lebanon Church of the Brethren
Millcreek Lutheran Church
Palm Lutheran Church
Salem Lutheran Church
St. Luke's Church
St. Mary's Church
Tabor United Church of Christ
Trinity Tulpehocken UCC
Unity Church

top    
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania House of Representatives presented a certificate of Recognition to The Lebanon County Libraries "Upon the Occasion of Celebrating National Library Card Sign Up Month!" signed by State Representative Mauree Gingrich.
Local Governments Issuing Library Card Sign Up Month Proclamations

Bethel Township
Lebanon City
Myerstown Borough

North Lebanon Township
North Londonderry Township
Palmyra Borough
South Londonderry Township

Proclamation

WHEREAS, libraries are modern community centers for information, education and entertainment, which open up a world of opportunity for people of all ages, and;

WHEREAS, America's libraries are essential to national literacy, lifelong learning, and a productive economy, and;

WHEREAS, a library card is a ticket to quality family time, with something for everyone, and;

WHEREAS, children who have library cards and use the library perform better in school, and;

WHEREAS, a library card provides access to a goldmine of books, magazines, CDs, videos, computers, the Internet and more, and;

WHEREAS, libraries transform communities, and;

WHEREAS, Library cards are free to those living in the library's service area.

top