"Is there a place in your community:
- Where residents of all ages and incomes visit and enjoy spending their time?
- Where people go to hear interesting speakers discuss new ideas, books, travel and a broad range of topics?
- Where you can stop by and take home a book, CD or DVD at virtually no cost?
That's also a place:
- That's "owned" by everyone in the community?
- And can be counted on, day after day, to draw people downtown or to main street?
In a growing number of cities and towns, there's one answer to all these questions: the public library.

This is how Wayne Senville, editor of the Planning Commissioners' Journal, opens his article "Libraries at the Heart of Our Communities" in the journal's Summer 2009 issue. Over the next several pages, Senville cites statistics on library use compared to sporting events - yes, in 2007 far more people visited libraries than attended Major League Baseball, NFL Football, and NCAA Men's and Women's basketball and football games combined. He asserts that libraries "add to the authenticity of a town...they make it...more of a town center." *

It's wonderful when other people say such nice - and true - things about us. Be sure to visit us - in person or virtually - to take advantage of "the heart" of the Radnor community. To read the full article, please click here.

*Reprinted with permission from an article originally published in the Summer 2009 issue of the Planning Commissioners' Journal. For more information about the Journal, go to: www.plannersweb.com.

The Pennsylvania Library Association has issued a Call to Action for library supporters during Library Call-in Week, July 20-24. Pennsylvania libraries need your help to keep state government focused on libraries during the budget process.

How can you take part in Call-in Week, July 20-24?

1) Please call your State Senator and your state Representative. For Radnor Township, these legislators are:

State Senator Daylin Leach
610-768-4200 or 717-787-5544
Honorable Bryn R. Lentz
610-544-7301 or 717-787-8574
Honorable William F. Adolph, Jr.
610-544-9878 or 717-787-1248
Honorable Gregory S. Vitali
610-789-3900 or 717-787-7647

2) Deliver this key message:

Libraries are more important than ever in this recession. They provide and economic safety net for the people in our state who are the most vulnerable. Please make libraries one of your priorities in the next state budget.

3) Add a personal message of you'd like, but keep it brief. Tell why the library is important to you, your family, or your business.

4) The bottom line is this: PLEASE SUPPORT LEVEL FUNDING FOR LIBRARIES.

The Board of Trustees of the Radnor Memorial Library is pleased to announce the appointment of the library's new Executive Director, Kathy Mulroy. With a long career in both academic and public libraries, Ms. Mulroy was most recently director of the library at Philadelphia University. Click here to read more about Kathy. Please stop in to say hello!

Ann Etris, Information Librarian, and Abbe Klebanoff, Children's Librarian, were both nominated for 2009 Librarian of the Year in the 17th Senatorial District, presented Friday, April 17 by Senator Daylin Leach. Congratulations to Ann and Abbe! To read more, click here.

Pictured above, l. to r.: Abbe Klebanoff, Senator Leach, Ann Etris.