MIFFLINTOWN – Noting that libraries have long served as trusted institutions in their communities, the Juniata County Commissioners on Tuesday adopted a proclamation designating April 8 – 14 as “National Library Week.”

On hand to accept the proclamation was Juniata County Library Director Vince Giordano, who presented a brief recap of the past year’s activities and a glimpse of what’s ahead for the Juniata County Library.

“After we celebrated our 50th anniversary in 2016, I thought to myself, ‘How do we top that?'” Giordano said. “Well, in 2017 we did a lot. It was a pretty steady year. Finances seemed to level out and not so much at a deadlock. We pulled out a lot of neat things in 2017. We received generous donations from readers and several municipalities in the county.”

Among the highlights Giordano pointed out:

¯ The library now lends out mobile hotspots, which allows residents to take Wi-Fi into their homes and on the road. “It’s extremely popular with all kinds of people of all ages. This lets people take the internet with them,” Giordano noted, adding the service costs borrowers $20 a month.

¯ The library issued a card to every K-12 student in the county.

¯ The library made several improvements to the inside and outside of the facility.

¯ The library instituted its first winter reading program, which gives users opportunities to discover new and interesting books and authors.

¯ The library will begin offering fiber internet this coming summer, making it the only public facility that offers this high speed internet for free.

Giordano said he is pleased with the growth in usage over the years.

“This past year,” he reported, “with regard to checkouts, we had almost 100,000 books and e-books go out the door. The e-books, in particular, are very popular and have really taken off.”

Giordano said the library also hosted over 4,200 people using the facility for meetings, classes and other organizational activities in 2017.

In congratulating Giordano, Commissioner Alice Gray noted, “It is our honor to have you here and to have everything the library offers to our county.”

In other business Tuesday, the commissioners:

¯ Approved the “Guaranteed Space Agreement” between the county and Central Counties Youth Detention Center as submitted by the Children & Youth Fiscal Department.

¯ Approved the hiring of Aaron Miller to fill the position of deputy director of the Assessment Department’s Clean and Green Program/Parcel Maintenance effective April 16.

¯ Approved a wording change to the “Paid Personal Leave” portion of the county’s government employee handbook.

¯ Adopted a resolution authorizing “Capital Projects Reimbursements” should the county decide to move forward with future capital improvement projects.

¯ Ratified a Juniata County Hazardous Materials check in the amount of $830 to Susquehanna Fire Equipment for the agreement and repairs.

¯ Announced a delinquent taxpayer notice will be published the week of May 13 and urged all citizens who are late in paying their taxes to do so to avoid being listed in the ad.

¯ Acknowledged the resignation of Sarah Lewis from her position as maintenance worker effective July 1.

¯ Approved payment of bills in the amount of $260,873.29.