That stern librarian shushing you with the evil eye?

Forget about it.

Stuffy rooms with drab décor and utilitarian furniture?

Not anymore.

Today’s public libraries are warm, welcoming, comfortable places bursting with fun, learning, and activity in addition to quiet corners to read the latest books.

They welcome children and teens, offer safe havens for those needing to learn more about themselves, teach crafts, provide ways to explore genealogy, and offer access to technology.

“We offer something for every age group,” says Tamaqua Public Library Coordinator Melissa Schock Hess. “We offer programs to get people into the library, and then they can see what’s here. The programs and activities are either free or at nominal cost to cover materials.”

Jody Kellner brought her 4-year old grandson, Lucas, to the library for Winter Story Time.

The children listened as Jerilyn Bockorick DiCarlo read “The Sneezy Snowman.”

“My grandson is really shy,” Kellner said. “She had them build the snowman with Styrofoam. He went up and did what he wanted to do. Then, they did crafts and had a snack.

“I felt it would great to take him where he could socialize and do crafts and activities so close to home in Tamaqua. The library has become so community oriented. It’s awesome for the community.”

The library’s programs, and activities, which include the recently added Cricut classes, have drawn as many as 100 people a day into the library, Hess said.

She is excited about the library’s increasing trove of technology.

“I’m very passionate about tech and keeping up with it. We want to get the younger generation involved too, and we think tech is the key to getting the younger generation into the library and incorporate it as an everyday thing,” she said.

“If it’s too expensive to buy for home, we have it here for them. We can show them how to use it and supervise them as they do,” Hess said. “We feel like the kids should be exposed to it and be able to use it.”

The library’s three VR oculus headsets, eight computers, and free Wi-Fi are popular, she said.

Kara Edmonds, Director of the Dimmick Memorial Library in Jim Thorpe and the Penn Kidder Library branch, said, “We try to meet the needs of all of our patrons, whether they are children, school aged, adult or senior citizens.”

The offerings include “Diamond Dots” events for all ages; painting lessons with local artist, Dan Becker; Readers’ Circle in which people can share recent “reads” and socialize with fellow book lovers; summer learning programs for all ages, which people can share recent “reads” and socialize with fellow book lovers, book clubs which bring participants together to discuss the same text; teen events like “Trivia Night” and Dungeons and Dragons campaigns; and STEAM events for both young children and middle-grade students.

Gimmick and Penn Kidder also hold education events like “Medicare 101” and a smoking cessation program offered by Lehigh Valley Health Network.

Edmonds is looking forward to future programs.

“We are excited about a repeated program of Book Art. There are so many cool and interesting ways to re-purpose old books to create ornaments, trinkets and personal items,” she said. “We can’t wait to have patrons bring new life, beauty and function to old book materials.”

“While we work to create new and helpful events, we can always use new ideas. Interested in something we haven’t offered? If you are interested, there are probably other people who are interested as well. Give us your suggestions and we will do our best to serve you and the community,” she said.

Patti Weiss, library director at Western Pocono Community Library in Brodheadsville, is excited about its programs and activities.

“We have always had a great group of patrons that would attend our programs. When COVID hit we did lose a few and were concerned what it would look like on the other side of COVID. In 2021, we started to see a trend with patrons eager to find something to do with their children and for themselves. By 2022 we were seeing programs bringing in patrons that well surpassed pre-COVID numbers. We have had great success with several programs and the feedback has been amazingly positive,” she said.

“Our most popular program for children is by far our Toddler Rhythm Program for children ages 2-3 (that is not a hard a fast rule). This program has grown so much so that we had to add a second day because we were running out of room. In 2022, we had over 4,000 participants. This program is fun and a little loud, we read but also sing, dance and get to be interactive with the parents and children,” Weiss said.

For adults, crafting programs are a big draw.

“We hold a variety of crafting programs from pressed flowers to glass painting and everything in between.,” Weiss said.

“We are continuing to add new programs and find new, fun and interesting programs to offer to all members of our community,” she said.

Western Pocono Community Library also offers computers with free internet access, and free Wi-Fi “that also extends into our parking lot for after-hours use if needed,” Weiss said. “We have always had a busy computer section and it appears that the trend is continuing.”

Sarah Brush, who handles programming at Palmerton Area Library, says it offers an array of programs and activities to spark interests of all ages, as well as a number of services.

“Our services include interlibrary loans, which allow patrons to borrow books from other Pennsylvania libraries at no cost; computer access; copying, scanning and faxing services; and access to a variety of online databases and services,” she said.

Brush said the programs include a weekly Children’s Storytime every Friday at 10:30 a.m.; the new Peapod Storytime for toddlers every first and third Tuesday of the month at 10:30 a.m.; the Third Monday Book Club, which meets every third Monday from 12:30 to 2 p.m.; the new Come As You Are Book Club, which will meet every third Wednesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

The Palmerton Area Library offers not only nourishment for the mind, but for the body.

A Baby Food Distribution, in partnership with the Palmerton Food Pantry, is offered every first and third Monday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Brush said.

“We’re currently planning a gardening seminar, creative writing programs, our summer reading program, and we’re in talks with various community members to create programs that will share the many passions of our community,” she said.

Another program that is flourishing is the Seed Library.

“We have a Seed Library that gives people access to free seeds for vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers,” Brush said. “We offer a wide variety of seed types, and we also accept seeds from anyone who wishes to donate to keep the seed library stocked.”