Sands Fashion Show Will Benefit Bethlehem Library

Prizes and special discounts available at Sands Outlets fashion show, which will benefit Phase III of public library's 'Room to Grow' project.

Take This Book List Holiday Gift Shopping: Part II

This is Part II of my annual librarians’ recommendations of children’s books that make great gifts. This list comes from Bethlehem Area Public Library.

I have a mild case of dyslexia in which I frequently transpose numbers and mistake q’s for g’s and b’s for d’s when I read too fast. Growing up, I struggled with words but my parents read to me every night and encouraged me, and by about 9 or 10, I learned to love books.  I haven’t been bored since. What a gift. Whether or not you’re in a position to give a kid the love of reading, you can at least give a child a book worth loving. Last week’s column listed recommendations from the Easton Area Public Library. Today’s children and teen book recommendations and descriptions come from Edana Hoy, head of youth services for Bethlehem Area Public Library. For pre-schoolers: “Llama Llama Time to Share” by Anna Dewdney. Llama Llama does not want …

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Banned Books Week: What You Need to Know

Censorship is alive and well, as highlighted by Banned Books Week—and you might be surprised by who the most vocal challengers of books are.

  The importance of the First Amendment and the concept of "intellectual freedom" might not always be readily apparent to most kids, but Banned Books Week is a great opportunity to make those lessons come alive for children—and adults. Banned Books Week is held annually during the last week of Sept. (Sept. 30-Oct. 6, 2012). The week is an occasion for libraries and bookstores across the U.S. to help folks realize just how real and ongoing a problem censorship is. The Bethlehem Area Public Library is marking the week with a banned books display near the library's checkout counter and a handout with the titles of 50 books that have been censored somewhere at some time in the United States. More than 11,000 books have been challenged (though …

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Library Board Approves 2012 Budget

$3 million spending plan rejected by 2 board members; member municipalities will get last word.

The board of directors of the Bethlehem Area Public Library approved a proposed 2012 operating budget of nearly $3 million on Tuesday night, though support was not unanimous. While eight board members voted in favor of the budget proposal, which calls for a 2 percent increase in spending over this year, Bethlehem Township Commissioner Tom Nolan and Bob Schoenen, a representative of Hanover Township, Northampton County, voted against. There were also two abstentions. Nolan said that though he was pleased that library staff had gone back after last month’s meeting and trimmed an initial budget proposal by nearly $30,000, he thought more cuts were possible. Schoenen similarly wanted more belt-tightening. The $30,000 reduction from the initial…

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New Library Rules Aimed at Limiting Homeless

Sleeping, bathing and panhandling banned, as of last month, one church pastor protests.

The Bethlehem Area Public Library has revised its rules of acceptable behavior to limit the impact of homeless people who have recently begun to spend more time there, according to this Express-Times report. Sleeping, bathing and panhandling became prohibited activities at the library as of last month, according to the story. The new rules also prohibit bringing in sleeping bags or having “offensive bodily odors.” “A library cannot be an adult day care center — we do not have the resources for it,” library Executive Director Janet Fricker told the newspaper. “It was getting out of balance. It was getting to a point where people who regularly use the library with their kids weren’t coming here anymore.” However, the pastor of the Christ …

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