The Friends of Mountville Library will host a free event on Saturday, Oct. 21, at the Mountville Library, 120 College Ave., Mountville. Festivities will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. to celebrate 60 years since the library was founded, as well as to thank members of the community for their decades of support.

The celebration will feature a variety of carnival games, drawings for prize baskets, children's activities and light refreshments. Each patron will receive a free ticket to participate in the prize basket drawings. Live music provided throughout the day by Connor Craven. Although the event is free to attend, the Friends of the Mountville Library ask that attendees sign up online by visiting https://tinyurl.com/60yearsoflibrary.

During the event, the Friends of the Mountville Library will recognize those who have supported the library throughout the decades. Patrons who have had a library card for at least 50 years are invited to either call the library or visit the front desk prior to the celebration. To express the library's gratitude, the Friends of the Mountville Library will present its longstanding supporters with a commemorative certificate and take their photo.

"This is our gift to patrons for supporting us so much over the years," said Karen Denlinger, president of the board for the Friends of the Mountville Library. "We want to recognize the people who have been there since the beginning."

In 1963, the Mountville Library was founded by the VFW Auxiliary 8757 with a collection of donated books, and it operated independently out of the organization's 450-square-foot basement. The library became part of the Lancaster County Library System in 1967.

The Friends of the Mountville Library group was formed in 1976 following the introduction of the preschool story time program. Two years later, the library began to offer a summer reading program and other activities. In 1984, the library was moved to the lower level of the Mountville Business Center, which afforded it more than five times as much space than its previous location. A procession of 65 patrons moved the library's book collection to the new building in a single afternoon. In 1994, the Mountville Library became an official branch of the Lancaster County Library, which is now known as the Lancaster Public Library. The Mountville branch made its move to College Avenue in 2011.

The Friends of the Mountville Library comprises several volunteers who regularly coordinate fundraisers for the library. Every spring and fall, the group holds a book sale and a plant sale. The proceeds support the library's various programs and community offerings. "The library is of great help to the community," Denlinger said. "It offers story time for kids, and people who don't have computers can come in to find jobs. People just love the library."