Different Ways to District: A Preliminary Look at the History of Pennsylvania's District Library Centers

Many years ago, when I was a newcomer to Pennsylvania, I encountered various features of the library landscape that I hadn't seen in other states. When I was growing up in Massachusetts (1970s-1990s), for example, my own city's library was the (only) library for me. There was no Bristol County Public Library, and I didn't know that I had any right to use the State Library in Boston. Similarly, when I was in graduate school in New Jersey (1990s), there was no Middlesex County Public Library and no hearty welcome to use the State Library in Trenton. However, when I moved to Pennsylvania, I discovered that I could use both my local public library and the Dauphin County Library System in Harrisburg. What's more, DCLS was (still is) a "District Library Center" that provides services to Dauphin, Cumberland, and Perry Counties. The idea of "out-of-county" residents being able to borrow materials from a municipal library was completely foreign to me, though the generous side of me that believes in "access for all" certainly loves the idea.

Although District Library Centers (DLCs) don't seem to be common in other states, they have a significant history and play important roles in Pennsylvania. Their origins can be traced at least as far back as 1958. Up until that time, public libraries were established only insofar as municipalities, county governments, or community organizations had the oompf to pursue them. In 1931, a matching grant program provided a small amount of state funding for rural county systems, but many counties didn't take advantage of it. Thus there were millions of Pennsylvanians who had no meaningful library access. It was well understood that most townships did not have sufficient tax bases to support bricks and mortar libraries, and not every county could sustainably provide bookmobile services, even if assisted by state grants. Where local and county libraries *did* exist, collections, opening hours, and knowledgeable staff were inadequate. Thus, a study commissioned by the State Library and led by Lowell A. Martin, Dean of Rutgers's School of Library Service, recommended increased state funding not only for local libraries, but also for strategically-located "central" libraries that would serve everyone within larger geographic areas.

Martin's study provided intellectual rigor and an actionable plan that the Pennsylvania Library Association and other advocates could use to gain lawmakers' attention. Act 188 of June 14, 1961, now known as the Pennsylvania Public Library Code, created Pennsylvania's first statewide subsidy for libraries and sought to strengthen them in various other ways. One of its provisions empowered the State Librarian to designate up to 30 DLCs, many of which still exist today.

Pennsylvania's current DLCs. Image courtesy of the State Library of Pennsylvania, Bureau of Library Development, https://pa-gov.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=84408565. 

As shown on the above map, all the present DLCs are public libraries. State-level library planners of the 1950s-1970s, however, envisioned a cohesive network in which public, college, school, and special libraries collaborated extensively. According to a Re-Survey that Martin published in 1967, 5 college and 24 public libraries were receiving state aid to provide district services at that time. While the Re-Survey doesn't include a complete list of DLCs, a 1975 study by William F. Donny and Francis J. Reardon does, and it also provides a map of respective territories. Back then, Clarion University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania served much of the area that is now covered by the New Castle and Oil Creek districts. While Penn State continues to serve as a Statewide Library Resource Center, Schlow Centre Region Library is now the DLC for Clearfield, Centre, and Mifflin Counties. Other boundaries have shifted as well. 

Pennsylvania's District Library Centers and their service areas, 1975.
Image from Donny and Reardon, Evaluation of District Library Center System in Pennsylvania.

An important facet of my current research project is to better understand how DLCs changed over time, and how they influenced public library services in their regions. So far, I have visited 2 -- Easton and Norristown -- and I plan to go to Altoona and Scranton as well. But I've already found some interesting material in the Pennsylvania Library Association Bulletin, in the State Library, at Easton and Norristown, and in other resources that tells me that DLCs have fascinating stories.

One thing I have already observed is that, throughout the1960s and most of the 1970s, there were few, if any, standards for DLCs that were strictly enforced. As Martin's Re-Survey points out, as of 1967 only 6 of the DLCs met even half of the state's criteria for budget, collection size, staffing, and number of seats for readers. While too-small collections were a problem for nearly half of the libraries, charts in the Re-Survey show that each institution had a different mix of strengths and shortcomings. Despite the fact that some DLCs were struggling, by 1978, the State Library published Minimum Standards and Guidelines for Pennsylvania District Library Centers Receiving State Aid which included additional expectations. In addition to books and periodicals, DLCs had to offer AV materials. They were also charged with employing consultants who provided "counseling and continuing education" for local librarians, and assisted in publicizing library services that were available throughout the district. Perhaps most importantly, district services were expected to be responsive to the needs of local libraries, who had input through formal advisory committees. 

Such differences in DLCs'  resources and their constituent libraries' needs seems to have led each DLC to fulfill its purpose in a different way. For example, it appears that the Easton Area Public Library emphasized hands-on assistance to small and emerging libraries. According to the monthly Librarian's/Director's monthly reports, one of EAPL's early (1964) projects was to assist in weeding and classifying collections at Barrett Friendly, a township library in Monroe County. A few years later, Easton provided "pool" (deposit) collections to both Barrett Friendly and the Riegelsville Library, beefing up both locations' selections of nonfiction and summer reading titles. In the 1980s, EAPL collaborated with local officials in nearby Palmer Township to pursue a Library Services and Construction Act grant to build a branch -- a building that the township continues to own, but EAPL continues to staff. 

Although Montgomery County - Norristown Public Library became a DLC at the same time as Easton did, its approach to assisting local libraries had at least one different emphasis. It certainly developed collections and delivery services to meet the informational needs of Montgomery County's diverse residents. But, perhaps due to MCNPL's award-winning flair for public relations, one of its first district initiatives was to develop collaborative publicity campaigns. In the early 1960s, it formed a county-wide committee of librarians to work together on booklists and other promotional items. By pooling funds, labor, and talent, they were able to compile, print, and distribute much snazzier pamphlets than most could have produced individually. 

"The Outer City," a booklist on suburban social problems that Montgomery libraries co-produced with Montgomery County - Norristown Public Library, their district library center.
Copy available in Administrative Office Vertical Files, folder Montg. Library District PR Committee.

In 1965, MCNPL obtained an LSCA grant to purchase a poster printing machine, a portable projector, and other equipment that local libraries could borrow for publicity and outreach activities. In later years, the group developed portable display kits for promoting libraries at community events. They even advertised through billboards and parade floats! As MCNPL's stockpile of equipment grew, it provided a list of "properties" that colleagues in local libraries could borrow.

The cover and first page of a list of borrowable display equipment that Montgomery County - Norristown Public Library offered to local libraries within its district, ca. 1968.
Copy available in Administrative Office Vertical Files, folder Library District Services.

Pennsylvania's 67 counties, overlayed by geologic features, roads, economic stratification, unevenly dispersed populations, and cultural/social differences, invite endless tinkering with district boundaries. Even back in 1967, Martin's Re-Survey recommended a change to the 1961 Code to allow the State Librarian to appoint 10 more DLCs. Martin especially recommended ones for suburban counties around Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. I can't say whether that idea would have stood the test of time, but if I had been in the State Librarian's shoes in the 1960s, I don't think I would have invited 30 libraries to become DLCs, knowing that the law allowed me to designate up to that number. I probably would  have wanted a few "open slots" to fill later on if growing areas within the state needed it. Call me conflict-avoidant, but I'd rather hold back some of my thunder rather than face the uphill battle of squeezing more money from the state budget or, worse, have to demote or strip funds from existing DLCs to provide for other ones!

My understanding of DLCs is still dim at this point, especially for more recent years, because I have just begun to uncover professional literature, government documents, and archival materials from the 1980s and beyond. But, I will say that as much as district library centers may have been devised to provide equitable service to all citizens of the Commonwealth, I wouldn't be surprised if the system still encouraged/encourages innovation, individuality -- and consternation. It definitely did in the 1960s and 1970s!