Southwestern Berks libraries expect to weather Spring Township library shake-up

by Steve Reinbrecht

Spring Township plans to close its two libraries and open a library less than a mile from the Sinking Spring Library.

“I think it’s unfortunate they’re putting it so close,” John Nelka, director of the Sinking Spring Library, said Wednesday.

The township is working on final details, Spring Township Manager Jay Vaughn said.

Under the plans, the existing Spring Township library, in Spring Ridge near Isaac’s restaurant, and the West Lawn/Wyomissing Hills branch, would close. The township would open a 10,000-square-foot library in the giant building at 3000 Penn Ave., now full of old fire trucks. The Yocum Institute for Arts Education also plans to move there, from Wyomissing.

If things go as planned, Vaughn expects work on the building to start this fall, and the library to open in the fall of 2017.

In March, Nelka told Spring supervisors that he was concerned the libraries would suffer and compete for patrons because of the duplication of services, the Reading Eagle reported.

Nelka suggested putting the new library instead near the township building, on Route 724.

Township leaders had planned to put a library at the Penn Avenue site when they bought the building in 2007, and haven’t considered other locations, Vaughn said.

The Great Recession, among other hurdles, put the project on hold, he said. After the move, the township would save the rent it pays for the Spring Ridge location, which is in a shopping center.

Wednesday, Nelka said he hopes all the libraries thrive. He said the borough library is popular and responsive to patrons. Some of his patrons might visit the new library to check it out, but he doubts many will abandon the borough library.

Many patrons arrive on foot or bicycle, he said. The new library would have great parking but unfriendly access for pedestrians and children riding bikes.

Further west, Wernersville Library Director Tina Santoro said she has no concerns that her patrons will switch to the new library in Spring. It’s about 5 miles away, and hers attracts many walkers and bicyclers.

The Berks County library system has no say about where libraries are put.

In August, the Berks County Redevelopment Authority voted to help the Yocum Institute borrow $3.4 million for the move, according to the Reading Eagle.

Vaughn doesn’t think the new library would be too close to Sinking Spring’s.

Thinking about Spring Township residents, the new location is more central than Spring Ridge, he said. And like Sinking Spring, the township is trying to revitalize that stretch of Penn Avenue, Vaughn said.