Harford CountyPublic Library is a public library serving Harford County, Maryland. It has 11 branches and an administration and support services building. The library has an annual circulation of over 4 million materials and serves more than 174,000 registered borrowers.
History
In June 1945, Harford County became the first county in Maryland to implement the new tax-supported Public Library Law. By January 1946, the first Harford County Board of Library Trustees was formed and the old Methodist Church Building on Main Street in Bel Air was bought to provide headquarters for the County library system. At this time work is being done to build a new Library facility in the City of Havre de Grace. The Harford County Public Library borrower's card is free and available to a person of any age. Included in the services and materials that the library offers to the community are: books, eBooks, sound recordings, audio books, eAudiobooks, Playaways, magazines, newspapers, video games, public meeting rooms, large-type books, DVDs, compact discs, STEM kits, puzzles, puppets, oral history, films, copy machines, public access computer catalogs with printers, microfilm reader- printer, children and adult programs, information services, Internet access, health information, tax assistance, and volunteer opportunities. For this past fiscal year, HCPL reached the circulation of 4.1 million library items.
Branches
The library has eleven service outlets, listed here by collection size.
Bel Air
has been the largest branch in the system since its beginning in 1947. The building was constructed in 1960 and renovated and expanded in 1967. A second renovation and expansion occurred in 1998. The Children's Section was renovated in 2016. The Learning and Sharing Center collection is housed in Bel Air Branch..
Location: 100 E. Pennsylvania Avenue, Bel Air, MD 21014
The Rolling Reader is one of many outreach services the Library provides to Harford County residents. The Rolling Reader promotes reading for pleasure, visiting after school programs that target at-risk children in grades K through 8.
Service Began: January 2001
FY07 Circulation: 4,075
Collection Size: 9,688 as of 7/2008
Silver Reader
The Silver Reader, a mobile library vehicle, will begin visiting Senior Centers, Senior Housing, Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing Homes throughout the county later this spring. The vehicle is equipped with a lift so customers in wheelchairs will be able to board the vehicle and choose materials for themselves, with help from library staff if they like. At facilities where some customers may need more assistance, the Silver Reader staff can take materials inside for customers to review and check out.
