FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2024
York County Libraries Celebrates 50 Years of Collaborative Service
Launches Digital Scrapbook During National Library Week
YORK, PA – York County Libraries (YCL) is adding its own historical twist to this year’s celebration of National Library Week (April 7-13). The county’s libraries are celebrating 50 years of working together from 1974 – 2024.
According to York County Libraries President Robert F. Lambert, the York County Commissioners created the York County Library System on February 13, 1974, to collectively strengthen the community’s access to library service.
“Fast forward to 2024 and our 13 libraries continue to work collaboratively to provide the resources our residents need today: technology, connectivity, educational programs, and life-transforming opportunities,” says Lambert. “We are celebrating this golden milestone by highlighting snapshots from the past 50 years, news stories, and other memories in a digital scrapbook. We will be adding new pages throughout the rest of 2024.”
Lambert hopes that community members will take time to flip through the pages of the digital scrapbook and also share their own stories and memories about their York County library by emailing [email protected].
The typical library experience has changed over the years, expanding far beyond being a depository where people come to borrow print books. Programs have morphed from the traditional offering of story times to include educational STEAM programs and author visits. The manual process of flipping through cards in the long drawers of the card catalog to find a book is replaced by an online system that quickly locates books at all YCL locations.
“Some of our libraries had very humble beginnings in vehicles including a bread truck and double-wide FEMA trailer,” explains Lambert. “Throughout our 50 years, we have been embraced by communities that love and depend on their local libraries. This unwavering community support has helped us grow our libraries into the vibrant facilities they are today; reimagined spaces for children, teens, and adults to gather and learn.”
According to Lambert, libraries continue to be busy. A quick look at 2023 shows that library members checked out over 1.4 million print and digital books, audiobooks, and other physical items including STEAM kits, DVDs, and mobile hotspots at YCL. Over 95,960 attended 4,005 library programs, too. Member use of the library is a mix of in-person and online with 639,800 walking through the doors, and 492,800 visiting the website last year. YCL’s 174 public access computers were used more than 44,600 times and Wi-Fi access totaled over 175, 400.
York County Libraries include 13 libraries that provide the latest in print and digital information, bestsellers, Wi-Fi, story times, book discussions, and databases. Their extensive collection includes over 560,000 physical items and one million digital library materials for loan. All are available for free with a York County Libraries card. Community members without a card can request one at yorklibraries.org at no cost.
###
MEDIA CONTACT
Deb Sullivan
Community Relations Director
York County Libraries
[email protected]