“Libraries are not just for books; they are for building community,” Warminster Library Director Peter Lehu said during this month’s “Love Your Library” event.
More than 75 people attended the June 4 session to support the Warminster Township Free Library and hear about its five-year strategic plan.
Tony Sadowski, member of the Library Board and a Centennial School Board Director, said that libraries “nurture our community in so many ways.”
Residents can borrow books, use meeting spaces, encourage exploration, thinking and opening minds, he said.
“Libraries invite readers of all ages to ask the most important question — ‘why?’,” Sadowski said.
As a member of the school board, he said he believes strongly in the library’s updated mission statement:
“Warminster Library provides free access to a diversity of information, arts and culture, and civic resources to improve lives and foster lifelong love of learning,”
He also endorsed the new vision statement, which is “Open doors. Open books. Open minds.”
One of the strategic plan’s goals is to “Promote inclusivity, diversity, and the freedom to read at one’s own discretion.”
Sadowski said, particularly in light of today’s political discourse, that it is “imperative to know that the Warminster Library has the support of...a strategic plan educating the public about the dangers of censorship to a healthy society and democracy.”
Lehu added that, “even if a book makes you uncomfortable, it could be a lifeline to someone else.”
Natalie Munroe, former chair of the Library Board and wife of State Rep. Brian Munroe said she has been using the library since she was a small child and is excited to see the positive growth over the years, and the renovated outdoor spaces that are now a part of the library campus.
Her husband advocated for the library to receive a $25,000 grant from the Department of Community of Economic Development to purchase and develop a mobile computer lab, which will allow meeting spaces to be turned into classrooms for a variety of courses from basic computer skills to avoiding fake news online, according to Lehu.
Daniel J. McPhillips, Bucks County Recorder of Deeds and Warminster resident, said the library is “truly the heart of our community,” and said that the new mission statement is a “recipe for greater understanding and (being) an informed community.”
McPhillips, a Republican, will oppose the re-election bid of Rep. Munroe, a Democrat, in November.
Lehu said the strategic plan will guide library operations through 2029 and is the culmination of two years of work by the Library Board, which analyzed library usage trends, researched community needs, reviewed responses to user and staff surveys, and interviewed community leaders.
The final plan envisions library services for the township that focus on accessibility, inclusivity, increased visibility in the community, and an expansion of resources and programs that position the library to be a cultural and social hub of Warminster.
The strategic plan can be downloaded in its entirety at warminstertownship.org/library.
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