From Log Cabin To Cathedral Ceilings

Over fifty years ago, the Camp Hill Library began as a tribute.  James Patterson donated $500 to memorialize his wife Betty Snowden Patterson and her love of books.  The Camp Hill Civil Club requested shelf space at the Schaeffer Elementary School for these initial books.  The donations of books began with contributions from the Camp Hill Civic Club, various volunteers, the Junior Civic Club, and the Woman's Club.  These hard-working men and women recognized the need for a library in the community; therefore, on April 16, 1957, a charter was signed by Judge Robert Lee Jacobs.  The Camp Hill Library was officially born.

As the original planners anticipated, the library quickly outgrew its space at the elementary school. The Camp Hill American Legion offered room in its Log Cabin Home on South 22nd Street. Two years later, in 1959, new construction at the high school offered the library an opportunity for more space to house its increasing number of books, and the library moved to a room behind the stage. But growth did not slow, and by the end of 1967, the library moved, once again, into its own building on North 31st Street. It was now the West Shore Public Library, serving residents of Camp Hill Borough, East Pennsboro Township, Hampden Township, Lemoyne Borough, Lower Allen Township, and Wormleysburg Borough. Nineteen years later, in October 1985, a branch library was opened in the East Pennsboro Township Municipal Building.

Four decades later, as the library's collection, services, programs, and usage increased, so did the need, once again, for more space. By the year 2000, an ambitious campaign was launched for $6.4 million to build a new library. Thanks to generous gifts from the Fredricksen Foundation, Mrs. Grace Milliman Pollock, and many other donors, the doors of the Cleve J. Fredricksen Library opened in January 2001 where Lincoln Elementary School once stood. It is now the largest public library in Cumberland County, housing a collection of over 100,000 items. In 2006, 232,569 people were welcomed through its doors. With the demand for additional materials, programs, and services continuing to grow, visions of future expansion are being discussed once again!

Page updated February 28, 2011