Professional Reference Assistance
If you need information, the professional staff at the Reference Area, first floor, can help you in person or over the phone to provide you with the answers. Over 20,000 up-to-date resources cover a variety of subject areas.
Business Resources
Specialized reference assistance on business-related questions is available through the Business Information Center located at the Reference Area, first floor. Directories, handbooks, and statistical sources are available to answer a variety of general and specific inquiries.
Foundation Center
The Lancaster Public Library participates in the national Foundation Center’s Cooperating Collections Program. This program provides free funding information to area grant seekers.
Free Internet Connection
Patrons holding a valid library card may connect to the Internet for up to one hour on one of our eight stations.
Disability Access
A fully accessible internet/computer workstation is available at the Duke Street Library and accommodates patrons with most types of handicaps. The workstation includes a large touch-screen, voice and motion based enhanced input devices, a motorized, adjustable work surface, and specialized software support for on-screen and audio output. It is requested that the library be notified prior to your visit in order that trained staff can be available to help you get started.
Lancaster Collection
A wealth of local and regional history resources can be found in the Gerald S. Lestz Reading Room in the Duke Street facility. Manuscripts, books, maps and other reference material make this area a must for research.
Books
You have the opportunity to choose from nearly half a million books at the library. There’s something to meet any need, whether you like to read best-selling novels, paperbacks, biographies, science fiction or mysteries. Over 5,000 large-print books have type that is big and easy to read for those with visual problems. The library also houses the Lancaster Collection, books about Lancaster County or written by Lancaster County authors.
Over 90,000 books for children are housed in the Library Center For Youth for children preschool to age 14. Books in the Young Adult Collection are geared toward the interest of students in grades 8 through 12.
Rental Book Collection
Lancaster Public Library maintains a small collection of recent popular titles that are available to patrons for a fee. The purpose of this collection is to provide an option for patrons who do not wish to place their names on the holds list for high demand titles. Rental books cannot be reserved and are available on a first come, first served basis. The fee for rental books is $2.00 plus tax and are checked out for 1 week. Overdue fines are 20˘ per day.
Magazines and Newspapers
The library offers a selection of over 300 magazines and newspapers on numerous topics. Lancaster newspapers dating back to 1790 are available on microfilm. Back issues of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal are also available on microfilm dating to 1965.
Over 15 newspapers are received daily or weekly from Lancaster County and across the country. Lancaster newspaper issues on microfilm date back to 1799. In addition, EBSCO host is an online index of over 350 full-text periodicals, providing easy access to more resources.
Multi-lingual Resources
As the population of Lancaster County becomes more diverse, the Lancaster Public Library is expanding its multi-lingual resources. A Spanish language section is located on the first floor and contains hundreds of fiction and non-fiction books, magazines, reference materials and audio-visual resources.
Audio/Visual Media
Over 3,500 video cassettes of current and past movies plus documentaries may be borrowed by individuals age 18 and older at no charge. Film and video choices include children’s selections and adult interests. Thousands of Books-on-tape and books on CD-ROM are also available that cover current best sellers, works of literature, self-help and much more. We also offer a growing collection of movies on DVD. (see policies and procedures below)
Services for Young Readers
The Library Center For Youth serves those ages 3-14 by providing them with books, records and other materials, in addition to a readers’ advisory service for children and their parents. As a preschoolers’ doorway to learning, the Center coordinates story-times and film sessions for ages 3-5 and provides tips for parents on “raising a reader”. The Children’s Center also conducts the Summer Reading Program for children ages preschool-14, including the Read Aloud Program for young children who cannot yet read. Additionally, the library sponsors special activities for National Library Week in April and Children’s Book Month in November. Similar programs are available at each branch library.
Online Catalog System
You have access to all 17 public libraries in Lancaster County through computer terminals located within the library. The online system is a computerized master list of all the materials each library has. The computers in the library can tell you which library has the material you are looking for, whether or not it has been checked out, and when it is due. Staff members at the Reference Area, Business Information Center, Periodicals Desk, or Library Center For Youth will be happy to assist you in using the online catalog system.
Interlibrary Loan
The Lancaster Public Library is one of 16 libraries within the Library System of Lancaster County. The libraries within the system borrow resources from each other to serve you better, offering access to many more materials. The online catalog system indicates which library owns each title. If the book or periodical you want is not in the combined collections of the Library System of Lancaster County, our Interlibrary Loan staff can try to obtain it from a library outside the county.
Community Facilities
Three public meeting rooms are available at no charge for use during library hours by community groups and organizations.
Parking
Metered parking is available in the library parking lot at the rear of the library. All money collected from these meters directly support the Library. You can enter the library parking lot from Cherry Street or from Marion Street. Additional parking is available in the Duke Street Garage directly across from the front entrance of the library.
