HOTTEST ITEM AROUND

Crowd packs library for distribution of 500 free pairs of eclipse glasses

POTTSTOWN » Hundreds of solar eclipse hunters packed the Pottstown Regional Public Library Friday for a three-hour program that ended with the distribution of free glasses to allow them to safely watch Monday’s solar eclipse.

The glasses have become hard to find, with retailers running out much sooner than anticipated.

So the library program became one of the last places to find them. The fact that they were free didn’t hurt either. But there was a catch. You couldn’t just walk in an get the glasses, you had to bring a T-shirt and use library supplies to make a “galaxy shirt.”

Lisa Kraljevich, the children’s librarian who organized the program, was the most popular per-

son in the children’s section in the basement.

That’s because she was the person holding the white bag with all the eclipse glasses inside. And she only gave them out after she had seen a completed galaxy shirt.

“We ordered 500 and I guess we’re the only people who held on to them until we got close the eclipse,” Kraljevich said. “We had a program on Monday and we only gave away 50. I don’t know how many we gave away today.”

“I lost track at 300,” said a library worker at the top of the stairs down to the children section.

The library staff made good use of the marketing opportunity, handing out pamphlets about all the services and resources available at the site.

Because of the number of people who showed up, access to the basement supplies — and the glasses — was being restricted with people only allowed down after others had come back up.

As a result, a line of children and adults alike snaked back through the main floor of the library, around the circulation desk and up to the front door just 30 minutes after the program began at 11 a.m.

Chase Bartolini, 11, of North Coventry, said he is excited to see the upcoming eclipse because “I like science. I like figuring stuff out.”

Scarlette Shaner, 7, of Boyertown, was painting her shirt with gusto, considering the limited supply of paint, and said she is looking forward to the eclipse because “I like that

it gets dark in the middle of the day.”

But that doesn’t mean you can’t damage your eyes.

The shortage of proper glasses has resulted in a number of unsafe fake eclipse glasses hitting the marker, warned Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

According to the American Astronomical Society, fake glasses have flooded the market. Amazon recently notified customers it was recalling certain solar eclipse glasses it sold that didn’t meet the required safety standards.

NASA is recommending anyone viewing the eclipse should use solar viewing glasses because of the powerful energy the sun expels. Legitimate solar eclipse glasses have special-purpose filters to protect your eyes, while fake glasses do not.

“We’re warning Pennsylvania

consumers: Don’t get blinded by fake solar eclipse glasses,” Shapiro said in a news release issued Friday. “Do some checking to make sure the glasses you buy will thoroughly protect your eyes and allow you to safely view the Solar Eclipse.”

While Pennsylvanians will not be able to see the full eclipse, we will see the moon covering about 75 to 80 percent of the sun. The same risk of damage holds true for a partially eclipsed sun, so it is important that all viewers protect their eyes.

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Trappe resident Geraldine Petr and her son Jerome, 3, paint an eclipse on his shirt during a program Monday at the Pottstown Regional Public Library, which ended with the giveaway of eclipse glasses.

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Blue Bell residents Vincenzo Yaghooty, 3, and his sister Serafina, 5, work on their Galaxy shirts during a program Friday at the Pottstown Regional Public Library.

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Because hundreds of people showed up for the Pottstown Regional Public Library’s Galaxy Painting Party Friday — one suspects for the free eclipse glasses that were distributed — that the line snaked back through the main floor, around the circulation...

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Soraya Williams, 8, of Phoenixville, shows off the Galaxy shirt she made during Friday’s program at the Pottstown Regional Public Library.

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA North Coventry resident Chase Bartolini, 11, said he is excited to see the eclipse on Monday because he likes science.

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA It became difficult to find a space to work, and enough paint to make your shirt, during Friday’s Galaxy Painting Party at the Pottstown Regional Public Library.

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Lisa Kraljevich, the children’s librarian at the Pottstown Regional Public Library, was the person to know Friday as she was the one giving away free eclipse glasses during a Galaxy Painting Party held there.

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Michael Heffner of Boyertown was one of hundreds of people who descended on the Pottstown Regional Public Library Friday to make a Galaxy shirt and get a free pair of eclipse glasses.

EVAN BRANDT — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Boyertown resident Scarlette Shaner, 7, seen here making a Galaxy shirt at a program at Pottstown Regional Public Library Friday, said she likes the eclipse because “it gets dark during the day.”