The Good Generator
Bonnie Goble, Director
Fredricksen Library has had a wonderful year.
• The library won the John Cotton Dana Award, which is the Oscar AND the Pulitzer of the library world. Only eight of these are given out yearly worldwide.
• Fredricksen was chosen as Simply the Best library for the 8th time.
• Hundreds of folks now enjoy the Farmers’ Market at the Camp Hill Borough parking lot on Thursday afternoons; we shop there too, and are happy to say that it was the library’s idea.
• Fredricksen hosted both the first wedding and the first memorial service this year in our cathedral-like atrium. We look forward to hosting more of these life events.
• Bee Local, our fall friend-raising honey, foods and health festival broke all records for attendance for a one-time event.

While these are certainly grand achievements, Fredricksen’s biggest contribution to the world in general has been of a quieter sort.

The library generates good. Fredricksen’s writers’ group, funded as a memorial to writer Natalie Craumer, published its first book this year. The new eBooks Kiosk and eBooks Hub have helped 100s of folks learn to use their electronic devices and to create – music, writing, art – with them. Finally, please visit 19th and High Streets, our north-east corner. Volunteers Kirk and Judith Hoyt, with help from their son David and other craftsmen, are constructing a sculpture made entirely of…books. Inspired by the work of sculptor Andrew Goldsworthy, “Bibliopile” is composed of titles which were damaged and needed to be discarded. Children and families who have followed the progress of the sculpture have also contributed their own special titles. We don’t know of another organization at which the creative spirit runs quite so high, so steadily, and so strongly. Fredricksen Library generates good, and that’s our proudest achievement yet.

The Year Fredricksen DIDN’T Win “Simply the Best”
Bonnie Goble, Director
It’s not this year. Fortunately. For the eighth year, Fredricksen Library has been voted “Simply the Best” in Central Pennsylvania. We are grateful to those of you who take the time to complete the lengthy ballot in Harrisburg Magazine. We are thankful for all of our patrons.
One year, though, this library may not win Simply the Best. Will this mean that Fredricksen has failed?
As much as we love winning Simply the Best and winning the 2012 John Cotton Dana Award, the Oscar of the library field, winning awards is not on our goals list. It’s not mentioned in our Strategic Plan. It’s never addressed in our performance evaluations.
Why not?
Our goal is to do simply the best job that we can. Making ourselves a gathering place for our six municipalities? We will do it simply the best that we can. Leading the eUniverse with a help desk, gadgets to learn on, skilled technology staff to assist? We’ll do it simply the best that we can. Improving the collections and securing increased funding with programs and development? Our efforts are single-minded: do it simply the best that we can. Expanding our facilities to better serve all six of our communities? You guessed it: we aim to do it simply the best that we can.
Those efforts continue, day by day. We are glad to be recognized, but it’s never been the goal. Doing our best work for the 80,000 people in our service area is the goal. The awards are just “icing.”

Tell us what you think...
Now...an easy way to let us know your Suggestions, Ideas & Questions!
Have a suggestion for an Adult, Children's or Teen program? Have a comment or question on our facility, computer equipment or services? Click the link below to tell us what you think with our online form. All emails go directly to Bonnie Goble, Fredricksen Library Director. 
Tell us what you think.

More Hours in 2012!
Bonnie Goble, Director
Fredricksen Library and East Pennsboro Branch are pleased to announce more open hours in 2012…and you, the public, have made it possible.
Due to cutbacks in state funding, East Pennsboro Branch had eliminated all open hours on Wednesdays in 2010 and 2011. Community and business support for the library has made up for the former cutbacks. The Branch will now open 11-5 on Wednesdays.
In the past, Fredricksen closed Sundays in the summer. That’s not the way businesses operate, and we are a business. We exist to serve our six communities: Camp Hill, East Pennsboro, Hampden, Lemoyne, Lower Allen and Wormleysburg. Sundays are Fredricksen’s busiest days. We need to honor that need from our public.
Fredricksen will now be open Sundays year-round, from 1-5 p.m. Fredricksen will be the ONLY library in Cumberland County to be open Sundays year round. Your donations and continuing monetary support for our events, our programs and our appeals have made this expansion possible.
We heard you, and we responded.

Page updated December 1, 2012