West End Library

Each year, the three Union County libraries offer free themed summer reading programs for children, teens, and even adults.
Registration for these fun and educational programs has begun at The Public Library for Union County, the Herr Memorial Library, and the West End Library.
Summer reading programs are a great way for children and teens to maintain or even to strengthen their reading skills over the summer months, and they offer a chance to relax and enjoy new activities
while they keep learning.  Adults benefit from reading too, of course, and they can even win prizes.
The theme for this year’s summer reading programs for children is “Make a Splash @ Your Library.”  In addition, The Public Library for Union County offers a teen program called “Make Waves @ Your Library,”
and The Public Library for Union County and the West End Library will conduct adult programs called “Water Your Mind @ Your Library.”  Adult readers at Herr Memorial Library have a more casual program.
All three libraries are joining together to hold a free family event with a water theme.  ”The Big Splash” will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sat., June 12, at the Mifflinburg Community Park, and will include special presentations from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Forgotten Friends Reptile Sanctuary, and Keith Phelps from Country Farm and Home Gift and Garden Center.  A DJ from Tuxes ‘n’ Tunes will be there to keep the music flowing.
Children will be able to romp and play on a big inflatable obstacle course, practice fly casting, get their faces painted, race rubber duckies, toss fish and dolphin rings, and even get wet during other activities such as water spray painting.
A dunking booth will be set up by Mifflinburg Hose Co. No. 1, a balloon artist will take requests, and there will be plenty of food. The Millmont-West Union Area Lion’s Club will offer hot dogs, the youth group from First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mifflinburg will have ice cream, and library staff members and volunteers will make popcorn and cotton candy.
Registration is not needed to attend “The Big Splash.”
For more information, contact the Union County library nearest you: The Public Library for Union County in Lewisburg 523-1172, Herr Memorial Library in Mifflinburg 966-0831, or the West End Library in Laurelton 922-4773.

This year all three Union County public libraries — The Public Library for Union County in Lewisburg, Herr Memorial Library in Mifflinburg, and West End Library in Laurelton — are joining together to hold a free family event to open their 2010 summer reading programs “Make a Splash @ Your Library.”

“The Big Splash” will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sat., June 12, at the Mifflinburg Community Park, and will include special presentations from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Forgotten Friends Reptile Sanctuary, and Keith Phelps from Country Farm and Home Gift and Garden Center.

A DJ from Tuxes ‘n’ Tunes will be there to keep the music flowing, and children will be able to romp and play on a big inflatable obstacle course, practice fly casting, get their faces painted, race rubber duckies, toss fish and dolphin rings, and even get wet during other activities such as water spray painting.

A dunking booth will be set up by Mifflinburg Hose Co. No. 1, a balloon artist will take requests, and there will be plenty of food. The Millmont-West Union Area Lion’s Club will offer hot dogs, the youth group from First Lutheran Church will offer ice cream, and library staff members and volunteers will make popcorn and cotton candy.

For more information, contact the Union County library nearest you: The Public Library for Union County in Lewisburg 523-1172, Herr Memorial Library in Mifflinburg 966-0831, and the West End Library in Laurelton 922-4773.

Public libraries must continually reevaluate and make changes as needed to acquire and maintain a wide range of resources and to provide residents of all ages with efficient service.

To that end, The Public Library for Union County in Lewisburg, Herr Memorial Library in Mifflinburg, and West End Library in Laurelton not only have completely redone their individual websites but also have relocated to a larger Union County Library System site: www.unioncountylibrarysystem.com.

Former system administrator Tracy Carey, UCLS Public Relations Assistant Carol High, and other library staff members worked with Mike Matukaitis, co-owner of Summit Design Studio, and with Conor Quinlan, co-owner of Summit Design Studio and owner of MePush, Inc., a technology solutions provider, to redesign and develop the new comprehensive website.

In addition to being an easily accessible Internet resource, the Union County Library System website incorporates information for all three libraries and performs multiple functions for each. Although the look is very different from the libraries’ previous websites, the biggest difference is in functionality, both for library administration and staff as well as for library users, who now have easier and better access to information and services.

The Internet not only has changed how people do business, but also how they communicate with each other.  These rapid changes in technology have greatly affected the way public libraries fulfill their missions, too.

As some of the community’s most dependable and important institutions, the three member libraries of the federated Union County Library System have offered generations of residents a world of opportunity. From traditional resources such as books and maps to outreach programs and electronic research tools like online databases, the libraries enable people to find reliable information and to enrich their lives.