The Library is located on the main floor of the Meeting House. 

Recent additions

The following books were recently added to the library’s collection. Funding for the books was provided by the H.H. Mosher Fund of New York Yearly Meeting

• Paths to Quaker Parenting: Using Quaker Beliefs, Testimonies and Practices by the Quaker Parenting Committee
• Quakers and the Search for Peace edited by Sharon Hoover
• Finding God in the Verbs: Crafting a Fresh Language of Prayer by Jennie Isbell & J. Brent Bill
• Letters to a Fellow Seeker: A Short Introduction to the Quaker Way by Steve Chase
• Secrets of a Soulful Marriage: Creating & Sustaining a Loving, Sacred Relationship by Jim and Ruth Sharon
• The Kid's Guide to Service Projects: Over 500 Service Ideas for Young People Who Want to Make a Difference, Updated 2nd Edition by Barbara A. Lewis
• Wobbling Home: A Spiritual Walk with Parkinson's by Jim Atwell
• Friends in Deed: The Story of Quaker Social Reform in America by Susan Sachs Goldman

Organization of the Library

The library collection is organized into six categories:

• Quakerism (including histories, Quaker biographies, Quaker fiction, etc.)
• Spiritual Life (including books on spiritual disciplines, simplicity, prayer, etc.
• Bible/Christianity/World Religions
• Pastoral Care (including aspects of personal life: marriage, family, child rearing, bereavement, etc.)
• Peace and Social Action
• Unity with Nature

Collection

• The online library catalog includes numerous resources related to the Quaker faith. The Library and its materials are maintained by the Library Committee.
• The library's collection of Pendle Hill pamphlets is not currently entered into the online catalog. Many of the pamphlets are available for viewing online at http://www.quaker.org/pamphlets/PendleHill.html. An online index from 1934-2012 is available at http://www.pendlehill.org/pendle-hill-pamphlets-index and a printed index of the pamphlets published from 1934 - 1994 is available in the library.

Circulation

Checkout period: Materials, except references, may be signed out of the meeting's library for a period of three months. On request, items may be renewed once for an additional three months.

Signing out items: Print your name and the current date on the circulation slip inside the item, and place the completed slip in the circulation filebox. If your contact information is not included in the meeting's directory, please fill out a borrower's information card, including your name, mailing address, email address, and phone number(s), and file the card in the borrower's information filebox.

Notification: Account status notices will be sent out monthly by email or by post to remind you of items that are checked out and their due dates.

Lost materials: If an item is either lost or not returned, the meeting will ask that a replacement fee be paid to the meeting. The fee will be the replacement cost of the item; if the replacement cost cannot be determined, fees will be assessed as follows: hardcovers: $30.00; paperbacks: $15.00; pamphlets: $5.00.

Reference: Reference materials, such as some bibles and some Meeting historical items, may be used only in the library.

Duties of the Library Committee

The Library Committee maintains the Meeting’s collection of books and other materials (Pendle Hill pamphlets, magazines, newsletters, etc.) and oversees circulation and shelving of the collection. The meeting historian, who is also part of the committee, maintains general meeting records and archives.

Specifically, the committee:

• Enters new items in the catalog and prepares them for circulation
• Maintains an online catalog of library holdings
• Oversees the circulation of items, sending out regular reminders of items that have been checked out and due dates
• Attempts to retrieve or arrange for replacement of books that have been charged out longer than the agreed-upon loan period
• Orders new items
• Participates in the selection of items to be purchased through the Moser Fund
• Conducts periodic inventories of the collection
• Makes determinations of items which should be discarded from the collection
• Keeps the library shelves in order
• Promotes the collection through displays, reviews, reading lists, etc.
• Accounts for expenditures from the library budget
• Prepares regular committee reports

The meeting historian:

• Sends one copy of the minutes of each business meeting to the Swarthmore Quaker archives, files one copy in the meeting’s archival boxes, and places one copy in a binder in the library for ready access
• Sends one copy of the meeting’s newsletter to the Swarthmore Quaker archives and places one copy in a binder in the library

(revised 03/10/2010)