The Hellertown Area Library is located at 409 Constitution Avenue in Hellertown, Pa. The library’s board of trustees has drafted a proposal for a new library services agreement with Lower Saucon Township, which they have requested be placed on the next township council meeting for discussion. The next Lower Saucon Township Council meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m. at Lower Saucon Town Hall, 3700 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bethlehem, Pa. The previous agreement between the library and the township expired Jan. 31 amid a disagreement over a new agreement. (FILE PHOTO)
To the editor,
We are struggling to understand the rationale behind Lower Saucon Council’s decision to cut funding for the Hellertown Area Library. It is inexplicable that the library was not even on this month’s council meeting agenda when so many Lower Saucon Township residents are deeply concerned about continuing library services. Council seems to have forgotten that they were elected to represent the wishes of residents.
We feel that the Hellertown library’s position has been extremely reasonable and we encourage Lower Saucon Council to amicably resolve this issue. The Hellertown library can’t be expected to continue to provide services when we are not providing our fair share of financial support. A library needs to have stable funding based on a defined service area for state support and a predictable budget. (An amount of) $9.66 per capita is extremely reasonable for all the services the library provides. With the PA Access program we are able to use other libraries in the state, including Southern Lehigh and Bethlehem.
Support for education, including library access, is vital to a thriving community. Please resolve this issue by renewing the agreement with Hellertown as soon as possible.
Mary and Bruce Dawson
Lower Saucon Township
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