Fact Sheet
The Lititz Public Library serves the 32,388 residents who live in Elizabeth Township, Lititz Borough and Warwick Township. The facility opened in June 1999 and is 16,200 sq. ft. in size. The collection includes almost 70,000 books, audiobooks, films, and music CDs. The library also provides online access to downloadable audiobooks and eBooks, which were checked out over 43,000 times in 2023. The library is open 60 hours per week and has a paid staff equivalent of 11 1/2 full-time employees.
Many folks walked through our doors in 2023, 162,884 people to be precise – and another 105,124 accessed our website. Lititz Public Library has almost 15,000 registered borrowers (age five and older) who checked out over 350,000 physical items in 2023, and 19,824 persons attended 907 programs.
Operating Budgets
2023 Budget
2022 Budget
2021 Budget
2020 Budget
2019 Budget
2018 Budget
Frequently Asked Questions
Unless otherwise noted, Board of Trustee Meetings will take place on the first Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. at the Library. Members of the public are welcome to attend. A listing of upcoming meetings and additional information can be found here.
Pennsylvania State Law states: “Records related to the circulation of the library materials which contain the names or other personally identifying details regarding the users of the state Library or any local library which is established or maintained under any law of the Commonwealth or the library of a university, college or educational institution chartered by the Commonwealth or the library of any public school or branch reading room, deposit station or agency operated in connection therewith, shall be confidential and shall not be made available to anyone except by a court order in a criminal proceeding.” (24 P.S. Section 4428.)
The Library System of Lancaster County and member libraries will resist the issuance or enforcement of any such process, order, or subpoena until such time as a proper showing of good cause has been made in a court of competent jurisdiction. Upon receipt of such process, order, or subpoena, library officers will consult with their legal counsel to determine if such process, order, or subpoena is in proper form and if there is a showing of good cause for its issuance. If the process, order, or subpoena is not in the proper form or if good cause has not been shown, they will insist that such defects be cured.
This confidentiality policy applies equally to adults and minors. When an adult requests the records of a child, the library will respond only if the child consents to the request.
APPLICATION OF POLICY
This applies to members of the Board of Trustees, staff and certain volunteers of the Lititz Public Library. A volunteer is covered under this policy if that person has been granted significant independent decision making authority with respect to financial or other resources of the organization. Persons covered under this policy are hereinafter referred to as “interested parties”.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
A conflict of interest may exist when the interests or concerns of an interested party may be seen as competing with the interests or concerns of the Lititz Public Library. There are a variety of situations that raise conflict of interest concerns including, but not limited to, the following.
Financial Interests: A conflict may exist where an interested party, or a relative or business associate of an interested party, directly or indirectly benefits or
profits as a result of a decision made or transaction entered into by the Lititz Public Library. Examples include situations where:
● The Lititz Public Library contracts to purchase or lease goods, services, or properties from an interested party, or a relative, or business associate of
an interested party;
● The Lititz Public Library purchases an ownership interest in or invests in a business entity owned by an interested party, or by a relative or business
associate of an interested party;
● The Lititz Public library offers employment to an interested party, or a relative, or business associate of an interested party, other than a person
who is already employed by the Lititz Public Library.
● An interested party, or a relative or business associate of an interested party, is provided with a gift, gratuity or favor, of a substantial nature, from
a person or entity that does business, or seeks to do business, with the Lititz Public Library;
● An interested party, or a relative or business associate of an interested party, is gratuitously provided use of the facilities, property, or services of
the Lititz Public Library.
Other Interests – A conflict may also exist where an interested party, or a relative or business associate of an interested party, obtains a non-financial benefit or advantage that he or she would not have obtained absent his or her relationship with the Lititz Public Library or where his/her duty or responsibility owed to the Lititz Public Library conflicts with a duty or responsibility owed to some other organization. Examples include where:
● An interested party seeks to obtain preferential treatment by the Lititz Public Library for himself or herself, for a relative, or for a business
associate;
● An interested party seeks to make use of confidential information obtained from the Lititz Public Library for his or her own benefit, or for the benefit of
a relative, business associate, or other organization;
● An interested party seeks to take advantage of an opportunity, or enable a relative, business associate or other organization to take advantage of an
opportunity, which he or she has reason to believe would be of interest to the Lititz Public Library.
DISCLOSURE OF ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
An interested party is under continuing obligation to disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest as soon as it is known, or reasonably should be
known.
An interested party shall complete a questionnaire, in the form attached hereto, to fully and completely disclose the material facts about any actual or potential conflicts of interest. The disclosure statement shall be completed upon his or her association with the Lititz Public Library and shall be updated annually thereafter.
An additional disclosure statement shall be filed at such time as an actual or potential conflict arises.
For Board members, the disclosure statements shall be provided to the President of the Board, or in the case of the Presidents’ disclosure, statement shall be
provided to the Secretary of the Board. Copies shall also be provided to the Director of the Lititz Public Library.
In the case of staff or volunteers with significant decision-making authority, the disclosure statements shall be provided to the Director of the Lititz Public Library, or in the case of the Director’s disclosure, the statement should be provided to the President of the Board.
The Secretary of the Board of Trustees shall file copies of all disclosure statements with the official corporate records of the Lititz Public Library.
GENERAL PROCEDURES FOR THE REVIEW OF ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL CONFLICTS
Whenever there is a reason to believe that an actual or potential conflict of interest exists between the Lititz Public Library and an interested party, the Board
of Trustees shall determine the appropriate organizational response. This shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, invoking the procedures described in Section V, below, with respect to a specific proposed action or transaction.
Where the actual or potential conflict involves an employee of the Lititz Public Library other than the Director, the Director shall, in the first instance, be
responsible for reviewing the matter and may take appropriate action as necessary to protect the interests of the Lititz Public Library. The Director shall
report to the President the results of any review and the action taken. The President, in consultation with the Executive Committee, shall determine if any
further Board review or action is required.
PROCEDURES FOR ADDRESSING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST – SPECIFIC TRANSACTIONS
Where an actual or potential conflict exists between the interests of the Lititz Public Library and an interested party with respect to a specific proposed action or transaction, the Lititz Public Library shall refrain from the proposed action or transaction until such time as the proposed action or transaction has been approved by the disinterested members of the Board of Trustees of the organization. The following procedures shall apply:
● An interested party who has an actual or potential conflict of interest with respect to a proposed action or transaction of the corporation shall not participate in any way in, or be present during, the deliberations and decision making of the Lititz Public Library with respect to such action or transaction. The interested party may, upon request, be available to answer questions or provide material factual information about the proposed action or transaction.
● The disinterested member of the board of trustees may approve the proposed action or transaction upon finding that it is in the best interests of the corporation. The Board shall consider whether the terms of the proposed transaction are fair and reasonable to the Lititz Public Library and whether it would be possible, with reasonable effort, to find a more advantageous arrangement with a party or entity that is not an interested party.
● Approval by the disinterested members of the Board of Trustees shall be by vote of a majority of directors in attendance at a meeting
at which a quorum is present. An interested party shall neither be counted for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present nor for purposes of determining what constitutes a majority vote of trustees in attendance.
● The minutes of the meeting shall reflect that the conflict disclosure was made, the vote taken and, where applicable, the abstention
from voting and participation by the interested party.
VIOLATIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY
If the Board of Trustees has reason to believe that an interested party has failed to disclose an actual or potential conflict of interest, it shall inform the person of the basis for such belief and afford the person an opportunity to explain the alleged failure to disclose.
If, after hearing the response of the interested party and making such further investigation as may be warranted in the circumstances, the Board determines
that the interested party has in fact failed to disclose an actual or possible conflict of interest, it shall take appropriate disciplinary and corrective action.
Books/Audiobooks—2 weeks unless otherwise stated on book spine or audiobook box, unlimited number.
Music CDs—2 week checkout.
Videocassettes/DVDs—1 week checkout.
Yes there is an after-hours book drop located just in front of the library. Items placed in the drop box after hours will always be counted as having been returned the previous day the library was open. We check the drop box in the morning, but ask you to return items inside during regular business hours if it is due that day.
The Lititz Public Library offers a variety of storytimes for young children and their families. Little Steps Storytimes (for babies 6-24 months), Toddler Storytimes (ages 2-3) and Preschool Storytimes (ages 3 1/2 to 5) are offered in the spring and the fall. Fall registration is held in September and spring registration is held in January. Check the Youth Services page for dates and details about storytime registration.
The Lititz Public Library has a genealogy room which is available for use by the public during the library’s normal hours of operation. For more information, visit the Genealogy Room page by CLICKING HERE.
The Friends of the Lititz Public Library is a group dedicated to the purpose of focusing attention on library services, programs, facilities, needs and advocacy and raising funds through projects and special events.If you would like to meet other Friends or volunteer for special projects join our monthly meetings held the last Monday of every month at 7:00 p.m. Most meetings are held at the library but you can call the library at 626-2255 to confirm the time and place.
CLICK HERE for a Friends Application.
The Library System of Lancaster County has partnered with several museums in Lancaster County to promote educational and cultural learning opportunities for children and their families residing in the county. Museum passes are available for loan to any adult with a valid Lancaster County public library card. The museum passes are located at the circulation desk of the library.