Pike chamber endorses new library - Executive Director Scott Weiland says project critical to serving needs of expanding community

MILFORD — The Pike County Chamber of Commerce has announced its support of the proposed Pike County Public Library (PCPL) headquarters. A recent statement from the library detailed Chamber Executive Director Scott J. Weiland’s letter of endorsement, which stated that “The Board of Directors of the Pike County Chamber of Commerce is confident that the new facility will be critical in meeting the needs of our growing residency.” Preliminary results from a recent business survey conducted by the Chamber suggest that education and training are critical to the vitality of Pike County’s businesses climate. “The library headquarters project is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to positively impact Pike County’s social, economic, educational and environmental progress,” added Weiland. From 2000 to 2006, the library saw a 50% increase in circulation, with an additional increase of 23% from 2006 to 2007. Meanwhile, county funding of the library has remained stagnant. “In 1900, the current 2,500-square-foot facility worked well for the 9,000 people in Pike County,” said library board President Maleyne Syracuse. “Today, our population has grown to about 58,000 and the same 2,500-square-foot facility is preventing us from keeping pace with growing demand.” The new library headquarters, to be located on Harford Street in Milford not far from the current outdated facility, is slated to be 16,500 square feet with 14,500 square feet of assignable space. “This [building] will be a tremendous asset to Pike County’s citizens and our local business community as we navigate the increasingly complex information age,” said Weiland. “Residents will have access to thousands of classic and new books and media such as DVDs and CDs.” The trend toward electronic information and new media has changed libraries across the state and nation. “Libraries have become community centers with group meeting rooms; places where people read, meet, talk, learn, access data, use their own laptops to connect wirelessly to the net, and get personal assistance in researching their projects and interests,” said Syracuse. “The new library headquarters offers all this, in addition to access to free books, DVDs and CDs.” According to recent statistics complied by the State of PA, among the 21 Pennsylvania counties with populations ranging from 40,700 to 76,700, Pike ranked in the top ten for population and library users, but ranked last or next to last in the number of books, journals and computers currently available to residents. “The library system’s operations and services directly affect every community within Pike County and our new headquarters will allow us to enhance services to our existing branches and beyond,” said Syracuse. “There is no other project that will provide more and varied services and benefits to a broader range of Pike residents than the new library headquarters.” The Chamber of Commerce Board is also supportive of the Library as the first green public building in the county. “This will help the library conserve energy while lowering operating costs,” added Weiland. “The new library headquarters will be an icon for a county that is looking and moving forward.”