The Sanatoga Post

Pottstown Library Director Michael Packard makes his pitch for funding Thursday during the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners' meeting

SANATOGA PA – Mike Packard will be the first to tell you that Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township residents are a pretty well-informed lot. They rely on the local library to borrow books, magazines, movies and music. They sometimes take advantage of its free Internet services, and on occasion bring their children to story-time there.

In fact, Packard reports, although township patrons of the Pottstown Regional Public Library, 500 High St., Pottstown PA, comprise only 17 percent of all its registered users, they borrow a disproportionate share – almost 21 percent – of all its materials. Yet the township during 2011 contributed only 12 percent, $62,125, of the library’s $525,729 budget.

So with a somewhat sheepish smile, but no hesitation, library director Packard on Thursday (Aug. 18, 2011) boldly went where others fear to tread: into the Board of Commissioners’ second meeting of the month, to request a funding increase for 2012. Commissioners smiled in return, and equally without hesitation said they’d think about it.

Board members have learned the hard way that the library is indeed important to their constituents. They tried during 2009 to halve the township’s contribution to $30,000 in a stab as cost-saving, then reversed themselves when taxpayers loudly complained.

Increasing Lower Pottsgrove’s donation to the library by more than $26,000 next year to $88,411, as Packard said he hoped the board might realistically consider, would more accurately reflect the township population’s library borrowing habits. The board did not commit to a number but thanked Packard for his presentation.

Lower Pottsgrove’s library statistics
Registered township patrons: 3,821
Total library patrons: 23,151
Township patronage: 17 percent
Township patrons’ circulation: 11,737 items in 6 months
Total library circulation: 55,993 items in 6 months
Township circulation: 20.9 percent
Township library funding 2011: $62,125
Total library budget 2011: $525,729
Township 2011 revenue to library: 11.8 percent
Township 2011 revenue per capita: $5.15 per person

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove 2012 budget):

• Thanks To Survey Input, Township Preparing Trash Bids
• Pottstown Library Asks Township For Higher Funding

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of Aug. 18):

• Thanks To Survey Input, Township Preparing Trash Bids
• Pottstown Library Asks Township For Higher Funding
• Commissioners OK Pruss Hill Road Accidents Study
• July 2011 Warrants From Lower Pottsgrove Now Online
• Township Pays Two Attorneys In Police Discipline Case
• Road Re-Paving Is Coming; Just When Anybody’s Guess
• Township, An Unhappy Bank Customer, Goes Elsewhere
• Township May Put Money Where Authority’s Mouth Is

LIBRARY FRIENDS SHOW VALUE OF FRIENDSHIP – The Pottstown Regional Public Library, which receives annual financial support from Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township, got an added monetary boost last week from its Friends of the Library organization. The Friends donated $8,000 to operations at the library, represented by Executive Director Mike Packard, left. They money was collected during the year from funds raised through the group’s “Back Door Book Sales,” a retail stand it operates within the library called “The Book Nook,” and other activities. Presenting he contribution were, from left beyond Packard, Frances Hylton, Linda Rennard, Marilyn Chapis, Cherie Makowski, and Eliza Mann.

Photo from Pottstown Regional Public Library

Pottstown Regional Public Library.

POTTSTOWN PA – “Mango Basic,” a new online resource officially made available Friday (Nov. 19, 2010) at the Pottstown Regional Public Library, allows people who seek an elementary understanding of a new language to engage in simple conversations, library Director Mike Packard said.

Beginners trying to grasp any one or more of 22 foreign languages, or English as a second language, can use Mango Basic to learn everyday greetings, gratitudes, goodbyes and helpful phrases in a short period of time. The easy-to-use program requires only two to five hours to complete, and can be accessed either from computers anywhere in the world, or from within the library, 500 High St., Pottstown PA.

To get started with Mango Basic, users should visit the library’s website and click on the “Mango” button.

• The library receives financial support from Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township.

“We view the addition of Mango Basic as an important next step in our mission … to provide effective, free library service to all of our patrons,” Packard said.

Mango Basic is an abridged version of a Mango Languages’ existing product, he explained. Since its founding in 2007, the Michigan-based company has grown to become one of the world’s leading providers of online language learning products. Its plans this year include enriching content within current offerings and introducing additional languages and features.

Mango’s arrival at the library represents the first installment of what are intended to be several additions to its online resources, Packard noted. For more information, call the library at 610-970-6551.