Manheim Community Library works hard to be a resource for the community, and its efforts have paid off. The library was recently named a Gold Star PA Forward Library by the Pennsylvania Library Association (PLA).

The PA Forward initiative focuses on improving the quality of life in Pennsylvania through five types of knowledge that the PLA believes are essential to success: basic literacy, information literacy, civic and social literacy, health literacy and financial literacy.

The Manheim Library began working on the PA Forward initiative in 2017. To achieve Gold Star status, a library must first earn Bronze and Silver Stars by completing a variety of programs and activities. "We earned five Silver Stars to earn the Gold Star," said Alissa Booth, community relations coordinator for the library. "We completed the requirements for the Gold Star in the last quarter of 2021."

To achieve Gold Star status, the library offered programs for infants through adults, including a sensory story time with Aaron's Acres and story time with Hank the Health Hero through CHI St. Joseph Children's Health.

"We offer a variety of explorer packs that feature topics like bugs or birds and include binoculars or other items and offer an opportunity to get some physical activity while learning about the world around you," said library director Andrea Black.

For the financial literacy component, the library offered programs on how to operate a successful side hustle and how to buy a home. "We offered a program on paying for college," said Booth. "We also have a variety of employment resources, including job listings, on our website."

Now that the library has achieved Gold Star status, it must work to maintain the award, Booth noted. "We'll have to continue to fulfill core actions and bonus actions to stay eligible," she explained. "We'll have to update our Gold status every year."

In Lancaster County, the Manheim library joins Lititz Public Library and Ephrata Public Library in achieving Gold Star status. "Adamstown is working on theirs, and they are almost there," Black said.

Black said she's working with Booth to schedule programming for the rest of the year. "We come up with a lot of the ideas, and then it's just a matter of figuring out how to make it happen," she stated. "Participating in the PA Forward program gave us access to partners across the state to help us with programming." Participating partners include Giant Food Stores, Pfizer, Citizens Bank and the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Black noted that for a small library like Manheim's, the PA Forward program provides a way to reach a broad audience. "We don't have a lot of space here, and so we don't have as many books as we'd like to have," she stated. "If we have a workshop on something like heart health and how to cook heart-healthy recipes, we can bring in a group of people and offer a resource to so many people at once. ... The PA Forward program is a way for us to have a well-rounded impact on the community."