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By TERESA ANICOLA
Courier-Post Staff
If you're not a frequent patron of the Mount Laurel Public Library, you'd be surprised at what you're missing.
Expanded in 1991 to meet the growing needs of the township, the library is in the municipal complex off Mount Laurel-Moorestown Road. New amenities include a computer lab and expanded senior and teen selections. It also has become a hub of the community as more than 200 clubs and community groups meet there annually.
In this sprawling suburban community, change comes quickly and is about to visit the library again, said Joan Bernstein, the library director.
"We want to make sure we're doing what we need to do to work smarter and decide what we can do without," said Bernstein.
A strategic planning process, tentatively slated to start in April, will draw ideas from focus groups made up of patrons, the business community, county organizations and township and school officials. A consultant, experienced in public library strategic plans, will also offer an objective view of the library and its services. A completion date for the process has yet to be set.
"I'm extremely impressed with the staff," said Robet Lazar, a resident and frequent library visitor for the past 12 years.
Lazar is a member of the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program of Burlington County. He relies on the library staff to help him complete grant applications for nonprofit groups.
"Many of my assignments are complex and the staff is so cooperative and knowledgeable. They go out of their way to locate obscure books or reference materials," said Lazar.
As the continuing development of Mount Laurel has brought buildings to open spaces, so, too, has the landscape's transformation affected the library operations.
In anticipation of the growth that was to come in the 1990s, the library tripled in size 11 years ago, expanding from 11,000 to 33,000 square feet. Now, approximately 20, 000 people, roughly half the township's population, are patrons of the library, said Bernstein.
The library has during the past decade evolved in many ways to meet the changing needs of the community.
Patrons can choose from nearly 100,000 volumes of literature and also have access to compact discs, audio books, videos and computers with Internet access.
As advances are made in computer technology, the library has done its best to keep up the pace, adding 20 computers for public use. In the computer lab, built four years ago, patrons can choose from five free courses, ranging from introductory classes to online job hunting and resume writing.
A collection of CD-ROMs for patrons to borrow is outside the lab for easy access.
"Our computer lab is very heavily used. It's a good example of the evolving ways people are using the library," said Kathy Schalk-Greene, assistant director.
She said that the library's 3-year-old Web site allows patrons to check the library's catalog, renew items or put a title on hold at any time. It also serves as a portal, through which card holders can access over 20 databases which include full-text magazines and newspapers, homework help, career information and business and health sources.
To help serve increasing numbers of seniors, Bernstein said, the library has expanded its collection of large print books to 1,900 titles. Audio book titles have also expanded to more than 1,000 titles, said Bernstein, and they often prove popular with many age groups.
"The way we conduct our lives now, time is a precious commodity," said Schalk-Greene.
Even teens draw on the audio books, library officials said, and the teen audio collections now includes about 300 titles.
The library is also redecorating its teen area with cozy furniture to make it more inviting, said Lisa Whitley, the library's head of youth services.
Mount Laurel's increasingly diverse population has also brought some changes.
"We've always been sensitive to getting authors of various races. Most of what people request still tends to be in the written word," said Bernstein.
Requests from black patrons have led to an expansion of titles by black authors.
The growing Asian community has also asked for more books about Eastern culture and heritage.
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