After years of working with dwindling financial support, the Lehighton Area Memorial Library has made drastic cuts.

You won't be able to enter the library on a Monday, because the library was forced to cut its operating hours to Tuesday through Saturday. Its doors are also shut an hour earlier during the week.If you're a regular patron you've likely noticed staffing changes as well."The library is currently in a state of definite financial strain," said Becky Wanamaker, director at the Lehighton library.She noted that the library's board of directors evaluated its current financial picture, and determined that changes would need to be made to ensure that the library can remain open in the future."While these changes are significant, the board is striving to have the least negative impact on the service to the community as possible," she added."This library is not closing. People hear about the cutbacks to hours and staff, and we get so many questions about whether or not we're closing. All of the decisions and changes that have been made thus far are to make sure that the library is able to continue for the future."Wanamaker and board treasurer Shannon Gogal noted that changes the Lehighton library has implemented are aimed at bringing costs in line with funding. After all changes are made, the budget will stand at about $100,000 a cut of more than $15,000. In past years the library's board of directors pulled up to $30,000 each year from investment accounts to make ends meet, an unsustainable rate for their relatively small investments."We're hoping not to have to dip into that again," said Gogal. "That's why we've done staffing changes and cutbacks, so that we can break even."Lehighton's story can be seen to varying degrees in all of our local public libraries. Funds are limited, cuts and creative shuffling are taking place, and survival depends on the support of their community."We are lacking support of the community, financially," said Mariann Kmetz, the director of Dimmick Memorial Library in Jim Thorpe.Last year the Jim Thorpe library received just $3,200 from local governments and the Jim Thorpe school district. They also received nearly $30,000 from the state, approximately 16 percent of its budget. The remainder of its $180,000 budget came from book sales, Friends of the Library fundraisers, individual donations and other sources."Public support is huge," said Kmetz. "It determines whether we make it or break it. We need the support from our townships and boroughs to get back on track."The Palmerton Area Public Library is in better shape, but relies heavily on community support to remain this way.Staying relevantLibraries are an oasis for paper book lovers, yes. But each area library has also worked hard to promote its many other offerings and remain relevant in today's digital world.In addition to paper books and magazines, Carbon County's public libraries also offer free electronic books and magazines and access to programs such as Ancestry.com, Heritage Quest, Pronunciator (language-learning software) and NoveList Plus through their websites. Many of these newer offerings are purchased out of district funds or joint funds and don't cost local libraries a cent, or are relatively affordable due to the district's joint buying power. Each building also offers free computer use and Internet access, as well as classes and programs for children and adults.Dimmick Memorial Library has adjusted its staffing to keep its doors open more hours each week. It recently added Thursday mornings and Wednesday evenings to ensure that all patrons would have access to the library at convenient times."It was a little bit of a risk," said Kmetz. "We're cutting costs to fulfill these hours, but we're trying to be progressive and fulfill the community's needs to be open when they need us to be. We hope that the community will see this and support us."Diane Danielson, the director of the Palmerton Area Public Library, noted that use of the Palmerton library has grown significantly in the past few years. Computer use is up 50 percent as more students are required to do homework and research online and job seekers turn in ever-higher numbers to the Internet. More than 47,000 entered its doors last year to borrow books or attend programs aimed at both children and adults."I don't think people can say that our library is dying," said Danielson. "We have very good attendance here. As far as circulation of books and materials, that's held steady."She noted that while each local school has its own library, public libraries have never been more relevant for students."There are tremendous numbers of students who do not have access to the Internet at home," said Danielson. "There are also all sorts of statistics that show kids who read in the summer do much better when they return to school in the fall."How to support public libraries"If we don't get the support that we need, and fix this, we will possibly close," said Kmetz. "We are open to ideas. We need the financial support and we need people in the building. If you don't know what they library has to offer, come in and look around. In turn we hope people will see the value of libraries and support us."Danielson noted that it's difficult to re-energize a community after losing support."Once you start that downward spiral, it's almost impossible to come back. It takes so long to build that support and show the community how valuable they are," she said. "If a library were to close, I think the community would realize, too late, just what an asset it was."What can you do to ensure that your community's library exists 10 years from now? Check out some books, or go to its website and download the latest thriller or romance online.Current state funding calculations don't take into account the number of patrons or materials borrowed, but well-utilized libraries do allow advocates to make a stronger case for increased local funding.If you're already a regular patron, talk to your friends and tell them to get library cards and talk about the importance of giving a few dollars each year to keep the library operating.