Penn-Kidder Library Center started out as a more convenient location for residents in the northern portion of Carbon County to check out reading material, but has evolved into so much more.

The library officially opened on May 13, 2013, in a 670-square-foot modular unit the group, originally known as the Friends of the Penn-Kidder Library Center, had purchased and had situated on the grounds of the Pine Point Plaza in Albrightsville.

While that was the official start, plans for the library began much earlier.

Plans for a library to serve Penn Forest and Kidder townships began after the Dimmick Memorial Library in Jim Thorpe closed the branch it had set up in the Penn-Kidder elementary school. Kidder Township residents Barbara Franzosa, who currently serves as the librarian at the library center, and Mary Farnschlader met with the late Susan Sterling, who was the Dimmick librarian.

Sterling suggested they start a library of their own, which is what got the ball rolling.

A nonprofit organization was formed and fundraising began. Books were donated, stored and cataloged in Franzosa’s living room until they could be transferred to the new library.

When it opened, the library had a staff of 12 volunteers and was able to serve the community six days a week.

Within two years, the Penn-Kidder Library Center had grown so much, it moved to a storefront in the Pine Point Plaza, and now occupies a large space that had been home to Carrigan Pharmacy, growing from 670 to 2,000 square feet, and from 6,000 books to more than 14,000.

The library will celebrate its fifth anniversary this year.

To help support the library, which does not receive funding from the state, the library has a small wares section located to the right as you enter where it sells used books, and small housewares that have been donated, which means all profits go directly toward keeping the doors open.

The rapid turnover of items on the shelves makes it a popular destination for local shoppers, looking for an unusual item or a can’t-resist bargain, as well as a chance to visit with library staff or patrons.

“It’s really like a community center,” said Franzosa. “People come in when they go to get their mail (the post office is located in the adjacent storefront) and just visit whoever happens to be volunteering. People really socialize here.”

Franzosa attributes that draw because it’s such a rural area.

“Sometimes we’re the only people they see in a day because the houses are so spread apart.”

She said the same goes for the volunteers.

“They love it because they get out of the house for a couple hours. They love to chat with the people who come in.”

The Penn-Kidder Library Center currently has 15 volunteers and no paid staff serving more than 2,100 residents. And while it isn’t affiliated with any other library, it offers similar programs, and some designed especially for its own community.

The library has a children’s reading room, which is outfitted with a colorful dinosaur theme. Weekly reading programs are held there, including private read-to-me sessions for the nearby day care center.

Storytime sessions are held all year round for preschoolers at 11 a.m. each Wednesday. Kids get a story, a song and also get to do a craft.

“We want to get them used to coming into the building and feeling comfortable,” said Franzosa.

The library will offer a summer reading program along the same lines as the nationwide “Libraries Rock” campaign this year. But since the elementary school will be offering the same program, Franzosa said they will focus more on math than reading. This way, kids who attend both programs will benefit in two important areas.

Summertime also includes activity days for school-age children.

The library is currently working on providing programs geared for teenagers. Franzosa said that when they were setting up the graphic novel section, which is geared for preteens and teens, that age group responded robustly and helped determine which novels would fill the shelves.

On the second and fourth Thursdays of the month, the library is open for Lego and game nights from 4 to 6 p.m.

On the first and third Thursdays of the month, computer club is held from 4 to 6 p.m. when an expert is on hand to teach or answer questions. Patrons are welcome to bring their devices for assistance or use the computers at the library.

Every third Tuesday from 4 to 6 p.m., the library hosts the Wiggle Walkers, a gathering for young adults and twenty-somethings with varying abilities to do crafts and other activities and socialize.

The Penn-Kidder Library Center also offers large-print books and DVDs to borrow or to buy. It does not offer e-books, however, patrons can fill out an application and borrow e-books from the Free Library of Philadelphia.

For more information about the Penn-Kidder Library Center, you can visit on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pennkidderlibrary or call 570-722-0300.