The history of the Womelsdorf Community Library is important because the library is a central resource for residents of the Borough of Womelsdorf. How the library was born, how it has developed and grown, and how it thrives today are all critical to the future of the library, as well.
This page is designed to let you delve into the history of the library. The page has two main sections:
Timeline of Womelsdorf Community Library
| 1872 | According to records at the Pennsylvania Secretary of State's office, a "Womelsdorf Library Association" was founded on December 9, 1872 (corporation ID 6001948). The founders are unknown, or not disclosed in the public records. That corporation is currently in an "orphaned" state. No other information about that association is available at this time. |
| 1978 |
The Womelsdorf Community Library was established by Resolution of the Womelsdorf Borough Council on Nov. 28th, 1978. Founding Board Members were
The library occupied the back room of the Borough Hall at 101 W. High St.
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1979 |
Library volunteers provided a Summer Reading Program and a Preschool Story Hour for the children of Womelsdorf. |
| 1980 |
The official opening occurred on March 3rd, 1980. The librarians during the first 20 years of operation were:
By the mid 1990s the library was in need of more space. |
|
1995-ish |
The Borough purchased the present building at 203 West High Street to house the library and the police dept. |
|
1996 |
The library moved into its present location in February 1996. |
| 1998 | In July 1998, the library joined the Berks County Public Library System. The system provided Womelsdorf patrons access to collections and services from all System Libraries. Computer, internet, FAX and Photocopying services were added. Strong growth in library circulation began. |
| 2000 |
The library was incorporated in 2000. |
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2002 |
The Board of Directors established a Capital Campaign Committee to raise money for library expansion. The Board hired Lee Olsen and Larry Smith Architects to design the addition and renovation work needed. The Campaign was successful due to the generosity and work of MaryAnne and Brad Beamesderfer and many other contributors and supporters. |
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2006 |
Construction began in December 2006 on the addition to the east side of the building (Phase 1). |
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2007 |
The Opening Ceremony for the expanded library (Phase 1) was held on Sept 23rd, 2007. |
|
2009 |
Library activities were expanding, providing 282 programs for the public. The Summer Reading Program served 274 participants who read 20,700 books. Outreach programs were held for the Henner apartments and Bethany Children's Home. Collection size was 17,544. |
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2010 |
Construction on the Restoration and Renovation Phase of the project (Phase 2) began in August 2010. It was estimated to last 9 months. |
| 2011 |
The Restoration and Renovation of the library (Phase 2) was completed in the spring of 2011. The project's success was due in large part to the hard work and financial support of Carolyn and Bruce Edwards, their family and friends. The Renovation Project was named in memory of their daughter Melissa a library volunteer and an avid reader.
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|
Present |
To date the Capital Campaign has raised approximately $1.1 million dollars in grants and financial support from numerous organizations and individuals. |
Historical Records
⚠ This section is under construction!! ⚠
Ancient History
Old Board Meeting Minutes records represent a portion of the interesting history of our library. We are currently undergoing a deep cleaning, and sorting through every old box of papers that we can find. We have uncovered a treasure trove of old Board Meeting Minutes, which we are making available to the public.
To get the minutes:
- Expand the decade you're interested in
- A table will appear showing each year
- The table is sparsely populated ... some minutes may be missing
- Click on the month within a year to access a PDF the minutes (or agenda, if we found that, but not the minutes).
| 2023 | |||
| December | Minutes | ||
| November | Minutes | ||
| October | Minutes | ||
| September | Minutes | ||
| August | Board Meeting not held | ||
| July | Board Meeting not held | ||
| June | Minutes | ||
| May | Minutes | ||
| April | Minutes | ||
| March | Minutes | ||
| February | Minutes | ||
| January | Minutes | Not official as Board did not have a quorum |
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2011 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | -- | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2012 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | -- | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2013 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | -- | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | -- |
| 2014 | Jan | Feb | Mar | -- | May | -- | -- | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | -- |
| 2015 | Jan | Feb | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2016 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2017 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | -- | -- | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2018 | Jan | Feb | -- | Apr | May | Jun | -- | -- | -- | Oct | Nov | -- |
| 2019 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | -- | -- | -- | -- | Oct | -- | -- |
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | -- | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2001 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | -- | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2002 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2003 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2004 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | -- | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2005 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | -- | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2006 | -- | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2007 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2008 | Jan | Feb | -- | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2009 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 1991 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 1992 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1993 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1994 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1995 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1996 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1997 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1998 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1999 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | -- | -- | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
The WCL board meeting minutes from the 1980s are largely hand-written, on ruled paper. Some were written on scraps of paper, and many were written on the back side of paper that had previously been used for something else. Perhaps that is a sign of the times in which the trustees grew up, a result of living through the depression in the 1930s.
From a modern perspective, it seems very old-fashioned.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1981 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1982 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1983 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1984 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1985 | -- | -- | Mar | Apr | -- | -- | Jul | -- | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 1986 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | -- | Oct | Nov | -- |
| 1987 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | -- | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 1988 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 1989 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | -- | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |