WEST CHESTER LIBRARY ASSOCIATION WEST CHESTER PUBLIC LIBRARY
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Mission Statement
West Chester Public Library is a destination for connection, collaboration and enrichment through knowledge and community engagement.
About This Cause
In a normal week about 300 to 400 people walk through West Chester Public Library’s doors. As you would expect, they come for the usual reasons: to check out books and DVDs, attend story time, drop in on Teens/Tweens Tuesdays for something to do after school, participate in the book discussion group, or attend a program. And, frequently, something special happens. A child struggling to read joins the Summer Reading Challenge and, inspired by the prospect of earning a gold medal, diligently reads every day for ten weeks. Result: the child’s parent is over the moon. “My reluctant reader has turned into a willing and happy reader, her reading skills greatly improved!” A homeless man needs help printing out his resume to take along to a job interview happening in half an hour. The file seems irretrievably lost in his email. A staff member guides him through recovering the file and printing the resume. Result: he arrives for the interview on time, and later tells us he “landed the job.” A local entrepreneur comes to the library for “knowledge” and access to information vital to her business. Result: a successful business built on the confidence that this entrepreneur can be as “smart as anyone else in the room.” A retiree comes to the library for books, and also to attend programs. Result: “The library has been my friend when I needed one; it is essential to my well-being.” We take our programs out into the community, too. For 2017, we made a commitment to developing a community outreach program to bring story times, STEM equipment and materials, and book collections to local day cares and parks programs. Library staff visited several local pre-schools and day cares to present interactive story times. The children at the West Chester Area Day Care Center participated in our Summer Reading Challenge earning gold medals for reading every day for 60 days this summer. Children enrolled in West Chester Borough’s summer parks program had library books available for daily reading time, and visited the library for special programs. West Chester Public Library serves the greater West Chester community with materials, programs, and information for all ages. The library circulates over 150,000 items annually from its collection of 50,000 books, DVDs, CDs, e-books and magazines and sees over 100,000 visits per year. The library’s PCs and free wi-fi connection provide community access to the Internet as well as up-to-date document creation software. Programs include children’s story times and Summer Reading Club; materials and after-school program for teens and tweens; and book discussion groups, author visits and special programs for adults. Founded in 1872, WCPL moved into its current location at the corner of North Church and Lafayette Streets in West Chester in 1888. The original 19th century building still serves the community as its library, albeit with 21st century improvements and amenities incorporated during an extensive renovation and expansion in 2004-2005