Our society is consistently changing, constantly evolving. Our institutions keep pace by growing right alongside of it.

That's the role that the Manheim Township Public Library (MTPL) plays in the local community, or at least one of them.

"We are first and foremost a public library and all that goes with it," said Joyce Sands, who's been MTPL's director for eight years. "We're kind of a de facto community center. We have a lot of people coming here to use the library facilities and meet people. I think this library is living proof of the importance of libraries."

MTPL is celebrating 15 years of serving the 44,000-resident local community, one and a half decades of making ever-emerging Manheim Township a better place to live. Recently, MTPL, which operates as an independent library associated with the Library System of Lancaster County, commemorated its founding with an invitation-only event that included past and present MTPL foundation board members, elected officials and donors.

"Based on circulation numbers, which are a true measure of a library's services, we are the busiest library in the county, by far," said Sands. "I'm not sure that was expected when the library was built, but that's the reality of it. We overflow our parking lot fairly routinely. That's our reality. It does place a strain on the building and staff. That's what we're dealing with."

Some say a community is only as good as its public library.

Before the current 20,200-square-foot, neo-agrarian building was constructed at 595 Granite Run Drive, Lancaster, in 2010, MTPL was very much a library without a home. At one time, MTPL served as a direct branch of the Lancaster Public Library, leasing multiple spaces at various sites.

"(The construction of the current building) was a grassroots effort to meet the quality and size of the township," said Sands. "Like-minded residents got together and launched a capital campaign, and it was done with the support of the Manheim Township Board of Commissioners. It was a large effort involving many, many people. The designers prioritized it being a green facility; the building is eco-friendly, and the building reflects the surrounding area. If you look at the building, there are different elements that suggest that."

Today, MTPL is home to 79,980 print and physical items, including books, CDs, DVDs, board games, yard games and interactive learning kits. Library cards, which are free to obtain but require identification documents, are used to check out those items at MTPL and all of the other 15 facilities in the Library System of Lancaster County.

In 2024, MTPL was visited 206,614 times, and physical items were checked out 620,561 times. Also last year, MTPL's 705 individual or group-led programs, sessions and classes were attended 13,773 times, and its 316 self-directed programs were used 12,596 times.

MTPL, which also features five study rooms, a children's room and a lobby for reading periodicals, is a popular local place for residents to use Wi-Fi, do homework and tutor students.

"It's anybody who's out there in the public. It's a cross-section of the community," said Sands of MTPL's visitors. "I like to leave my office and see people enjoying the library, just seeing the community being built here."

MTPL employs eight full-time workers and 20 part-time workers and is supported by a complex network of volunteers. MTPL is funded through revenue from the state, county and Manheim Township, as well as fundraising efforts, multiple book sales, grant applications, facility rentals and monies generated by its passport services.

MTPL is open Mondays to Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For additional information, go to http://www.manheimtownship.org/379/Library-Services.