Macungie reconsiders partnership amid protests

Borough proposed ending collaboration with Emmaus Public Library

Some Macungie residents were alarmed when they saw the borough was considering ending a partnership with the Emmaus Public Library because of a 2% increase in the annual contribution.

Over 1,300 Macungie residents, or roughly 40% of the borough population, are cardholders at the Emmaus Public Library, said Katherine Reinhard, a library board member. Reinhard is a former senior content editor for The Morning Call.

If the borough severed the partnership, residents would pay $40 for the year out of pocket to become members of a library in the county, Library Board President Anne Zayaitz said.

Roughly 70 residents voiced their support for the partnership between a signed petition and emails sent to council officials, said Barbara Levinson, the Macungie representative on the Emmaus Library board.

On Monday night during a 2023 budget workshop, a majority of seven borough council members made clear that, at least for now, the partnership would remain.

Council President John Yerman, Lisa Yeager, Todd Rutledge and Ron Karboski supported the partnership.

Zayaitz said that local municipalities rather than counties fund public libraries in the state.

Residents of municipalities that are partners with the Emmaus Public Library may use the resources of any other library in the county for free, Zayaitz added.

Resources at the Emmaus library include not just books but also Wi-Fi, computers, a notary service, e-books and films, she said.

For next year, the Emmaus Public Library requested Macungie contribute a little over $21,000 to go toward its overall budget of about $360,000, Zayaitz said.

The 2% increase was due to the increase in costs for library operation, she said.

“For people on fixed income, [the library] is certainly a benefit, but . . . anybody is going to benefit from going to the library,” she said before the meeting.

Council member Carl Sell Jr. questioned the need for libraries, citing the costs and the ability to access information from sources such as the internet.

In response, resident and former council member Dorothy Kociuba said a library is valuable to those unable to afford to buy books. For some residents, such as seniors, libraries are easier to understand and use than a computer, Kociuba said.

“I think this is an investment that is worth keeping,” she added.

Prior to the Monday meeting, Yerman said the discussion of whether to continue the borough’s partnership with the Emmaus Public Library has come up several times in the last few years. He said he didn’t want to speak for other council members but that he was personally in favor of the partnership.

“I think libraries are important to America,” Yerman said. “We have funded the library in the past, I see no reason not to continue that funding.”

Yerman also made clear that the issue of maintaining the library partnership could come up again before the next budget is finalized.