The Bethlehem library has a large collection of useful
books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs and CD's. The books cover every topic imaginable
and are in good condition. I don’t look at magazines there, but the library has
a sizeable number of magazines for anyone interested. They do provide many arts
magazines and publications of local interest. The newspapers are also numerous,
including the Express Times, the Morning Call and the New York Times. These are
great resources for conducting job searches or for catching up on the latest
political news and sports stats. Every category of inventory is well-stocked
and kept reasonably up-to-date.
I have been using and patronizing the Bethlehem Area
Public Library since I was a toddler in the 1980's. I remember playing and
running around as a 4 year-old in the children’s section, climbing on the mini
wooden sliding board. I attended arts & crafts for kids, for three summers
in a row, from the ages of 8 through 10, at the Southside Branch. It was there
that I first laid eyes on rows of PCs in June 1991, after these pro-typical
units had just replaced card catalogues. As a kid I loved reading about the
weather, dinosaurs and outer space, among other things, though I had a hard
time finishing any one book - I still have that problem.
As I got older, the library became a favored hangout spot
during my adolescence. I began walking to the Bethlehem library when I was a 15
year-old living in West Bethlehem. I would walk up West Broad Street and take
the bridges over Route 378 and the Monocacy Creek; it was a route that I would
often take for the next twelve years. At that age, I started indulging my nerdy
interests, reading about medieval history, meteorology, photography and modern
art. As a horny adolescent, I even perused photos of nude women that were
present in photography books in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I never did
anything too crazy, like a co-worker that I had years later; this dude had been
busted as a teenager for having sex at the Allentown library, and banned for
life from the place. Talk about finding love between the stacks!
In my twenties, I started going to the library even more
frequently. At age 25, I started visiting almost every day because BAPL was
within walking distance from the other places I frequented at the time:
Bethlehem Brew Works, Ripper's Pub, Wired Cafe, and the Moravian Book Shop. I
surfed the Internet at the Bethlehem library’s computers, reading up about
religion and the occult, as I made my final break with my Roman Catholic
upbringing. On MySpace and Facebook, I shared party photos from my wild nights
on the town, at places such as the Bethlehem Brew Works and Ripper's Pub. The
Bethlehem Area Public Library is a great spot for young adults to find
themselves.
Now, as an adult, I visit the library twice a week, still
using the computers with Internet access that are provided by the facility. I
use social media, perform interesting Google searches, listen to music on
Pandora, watch music videos and work on my blog. I am always on the lookout for
interesting feature articles, memes and videos that I can share with my
audience, as well as selfies and memories that may intrigue them. It is central
to my life and at the core of my efforts to establish myself as a social media
personality.
In recent years, I have gotten more into using multimedia
resources provided by the library, in the form of movies, seasons of TV shows,
music CD's and Wi-fi hotspots. The library has cool, interesting movies from
every era, along with TV shows of each genre. I've taken out seasons of
Seinfeld, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Breaking Bad. This has provided
me with countless hours of entertainment, as well as giving me a little bit of
a cultural education. I most recently rented the movie The Social Network,
which I watched for the first time, opening myself up to a whole new world of
Ivy League schools, privileged undergrads and theft of intellectual property.
The Bethlehem Area Public Library (BAPL) is situated in
the heart of Downtown Bethlehem, in the city's historic district, complete with
pristine Victorian homes and the modern stone buildings of Payrow Plaza,
including Bethlehem's City Hall and other municipal buildings. It is in the
oldest section of Bethlehem, founded by the Moravians in 1741. History buffs
will enjoy the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, Central Moravian Church and
the Moravian Museum of Bethlehem.
During the Christmas season, it is even possible to pay to ride a horse-drawn
carriage through the downtown, creating a true 18th-century feel.
The Bethlehem Area Public Library is very close to
restaurants, coffee shops, a major bus terminal, as well as the Fahy Bridge
leading to South Bethlehem; Southside has its own charm. The Bethlehem library
has a Southside Branch, which has a small collection of books, videos and DVDs.
From Payrow Plaza itself, you get a great view of South Bethlehem’s skyline as
it climbs up South Mountain, including many beautiful, historic buildings that
are part of Lehigh University's campus. On the whole, Bethlehem is very old,
quaint and European-looking, reminding one of a town in Germany or Switzerland.
Parking can be a problem on Church Street, so walking to
the Bethlehem library is often your best bet. The Bethlehem Parking Authority
is very aggressive with ticketing cars the second that the meter expires,
leading to hefty parking fines. The best bet is to park a few blocks away on
some residential street and get a little exercise, or walk there from other
downtown destinations. It is especially a great thing to do on a rainy Saturday
afternoon, when a comfortable, well-lit library sets the perfect mood to
counter feelings of melancholy.
I prefer Bethlehem's library over those of Allentown and
Easton for a few reasons. BAPL is laid out better, with everything all
together, in neat rows of stacked books, all arranged perfectly by the Dewey
Decimal System. The book selection in Bethlehem is better as well. The view
from the Bethlehem library is also far superior to that of either Allentown or
Easton, taking in the green of South Mountain and the historic grayness of
South Bethlehem's buildings. The Bethlehem Area Public Library is cozier and
less impersonal than the Free Library of Philadelphia, which has the feel of an
art museum. The staff at Bethlehem is much friendlier and more helpful, as
well.
The library was an invaluable resource for me during my
recent period of unemployment, as I began to regain my footing after dealing
with personal struggles. I was rootless, lost and lacking a purpose in life,
until I used BAPL for thinking, relaxation and study. It had all the books,
movies, TV show seasons and online resources necessary for an autodidact like
me. I learned a great deal about writing, social media, how to search the
Internet; I even delved into some dark, obscure aspects of life and segments of
society. Now, I am comfortable with who I am and confident in what I believe. I
expect countless opportunities in the future for learning and enriching my
brain, as the Bethlehem Area Public Library (BAPL) remains the second home that
enables me to become the man I was meant to be.
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