Dr. Rebecca Burdette Donates First Novel to Martin Library

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Dr. Rebecca Burdette (right) presents two copies of her first novel Almost Hell, a novel intertwined in West Virginia’s health care crisis, to Martin Library’s Donor Relations Manager Karla Heberlig. The books will be added to Martin Library’s fiction collection and will be available to library patrons county-wide through interlibrary loan. Dr. Rebecca Burdette is a board certified obstetrician & gynecologist and operates a private practice in York. Visit www.yorklibraries.org to browse and borrow from the large collection of resources offered by York County Libraries.

Rutter's Chosen Corporate Citizen of the Year by Pennsylvania Citizens for Better Libraries

YORK, Pa. (Nov. 19, 2009) – Rutter’s has been recognized as Corporate Citizen of the Year by Pennsylvania Citizens for Better Libraries for support of York County Libraries Summer Reading Club.

The award recognizes a business or company for its support of a local public library or consortium of libraries and, by extension, of the entire Pennsylvania library community.

This year, the Rutter’s Cos. sponsored the York County Libraries Summer Reading Club, helping to raise overall reading capacity, literacy and readiness for school among 11,260 children across York County.


Rutter’s $40,000 contribution was cited as having increased participation in the program, which ran June through August and featured events, author visits, book discussions, contests and prizes. The nonprofit Pennsylvania Citizens for Better Libraries (www.pcblpa.org) is an organization of advocates that speaks for libraries throughout Pennsylvania.

Family-owned and third generation-managed, the Rutter’s Cos. (www.rutters.com) comprise Rutter’s Farm Stores, Rutter’s Dairy and M&G Realty, a real estate development company. They employ more than 1,400 people in central Pennsylvania.

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Photo: Todd Rutter, president of Rutter’s Dairy, and Trish Calvani, president of the York County Library System.

Smith Village Shoppers Support York County Libraries

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(York, PA - Oct. 2) Dallas Smith, President of Smith Village Home Furnishings, presents a $200 check to Donor Relations Manager Karla Heberlig in support of York County Libraries. During the month of August, Smith Village shoppers were invited to donate $5 or more to one of three charities, including York County Libraries, Olivia’s House and New Life For Girls, and in return shoppers received a discount equal to the sales tax of their purchases. For more information about the thirteen convenient library locations across York County, please visit http://www.yorklibraries.org/.

Donation Enables Martin Library to Open on Sundays

(York, PA – September 30, 2009) Martin Library, 159 E. Market St. in York, is re-opening its doors to the public on Sundays thanks to a generous donation by two long-time friends of the library, Harvey & Win Bradley. The special operating hours, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., will begin on Sunday, October 11 and continue through Sunday, April 25.

After learning about the impact of the state budget impasse on Martin Library, the Bradleys contacted Martin Library CEO Bill Schell with an offer to help. According to Schell, their contribution aids the library in two significant ways. It enables the library to restore Sunday hours for the community, and brings back some of the library’s former staff members, who were laid off earlier this month, to fill these hours.

“We supported the Sunday hours initiative last year, and we were impressed with the community’s use of the library on Sundays,” says Win Bradley. “We believe the library to be a great cause and we were disappointed to hear that Sunday hours wouldn’t continue due to the lack of state funding. We decided to donate again this year to ensure that the library and its resources would be available to the community on Sundays.”

Last fall, Martin Library opened its doors to library users on Sundays during a trial period which lasted through June, to gauge the response of this new service. Library officials saw an average of 649 people come each Sunday, making it the second busiest time of the week. Visitors checked out books, used public access computers, read in the Quiet Reading Room, and did homework in the Children’s Library. Although the library had not planned to restore Sunday hours due to the budget impasse and impending state cuts to libraries, Sunday hours are once again a reality because of the generosity of the Bradleys.

Parking is free in downtown York on Sundays, with many spaces conveniently located near Martin Library at 159 East Market Street. Directions and information are available online at www.yorklibraries.org or by phoning the library at 846-5300, ext. 222.

Martin Library to host New York Times best-selling author Jonah Lehrer

(York, PA – September 11, 2009)

New York Times best-selling author Jonah Lehrer will visit Martin Library to discuss his latest book, How We Decide, and meet program attendees on Thursday, October 22. This program takes place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Quiet Reading Room. Light refreshments will be served. To register for this free, public event, please contact Martin Library’s Development Office: (717) 849-6952.

Lehrer is a Contributing Editor at Wired and the author of How We Decide and Proust Was a Neuroscientist. He graduated from Columbia University and studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. He's written for The New Yorker, Nature, Seed, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe. He's also a Contributing Editor at Scientific American Mind and National Public Radio's Radio Lab.

For additional information please contact Martin Library’s Development Office (717) 849-6952. Please visit http://www.yorklibraries.org/ for more on what’s happening at Martin Library and at libraries across York County.

Martin Library to Honor York County Judge

(York, PA – September 11, 2009) The Hon. Emanuel A. Cassimatis will be honored at a special tribute and reception on Sunday, October 18, sponsored by the Honors Committee of Martin Library. The program honoring the York County Judge takes place from 3 to 5 p.m. with a brief program in the Quiet Reading Room at 3:30 p.m. A catered reception with Greek specialités will follow in the Legacy Room of the Library. To RSVP for this public event, please contact Martin Library’s Development Office (717) 849-6952.

A York County Senior Judge until his retirement three years ago, Judge Cassimatis will be the twenty-third person honored by the Library’s special committee since the program’s inception in 1995. The program has earned more than $100,000 for a perpetual fund to buy books for the library’s collections in the names of those honored.

Dr. Luther Sowers is chairman of the Honors Committee, also composed of Robert Cox, Ruthe F. Craley, Mike Baker Frankenberry, Dorothy MacDougall, Zoë Meisenhelder, Lynne Danyo, Donna Pullo and Georg Sheets.

For additional information please contact Martin Library’s Development Office (717) 849-6952. Please visit http://www.yorklibraries.org/ for more on what’s happening at Martin Library and at libraries across York County.

Photo courtesy of The Schintz Studio.

Rotary Club of York Supports Teen Programming at Martin Library

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(York, PA) June 3, 2009 - Rotary Club of York President Mike King presents $1,860 to Martin Library Donor Relations Manager and fellow Rotarian Karla Heberlig in support of Martin Library’s teen programming. Martin Library’s Teen Forum has become the common meeting place for local teens since Martin Library’s grand re-opening in 2005. The Teen Forum offers free computer access, homework help, monthly teen programming, a teen job training program, and an inviting and safe atmosphere, exclusively offered to teens ages 13-18. Martin Library’s dynamic teen programming is vital in its outreach to the teen community, offering teens an outlet for socialization and recreation in a supervised and supportive environment. Over 1,500 York area teens participated in Martin Library’s teen programming in 2008. Visit http://martin.yorklibraries.org/ for a full listing of Martin Library’s teen programs.