Neighbor News
John William Pawling Community Room at Lower Southampton Library
Library meeting room gets a facelift and a new name
Changes are coming for the Township Library of Lower Southampton. The first of these will be revealed on Friday, October 18 at 7PM, when the library meeting room is dedicated as the John William Pawling Community Room.
Mr. Pawling was a longtime patron of the library, and an enthusiastic and loyal participant in events in the meeting room. He particularly enjoyed attending informational presentations on local history, as he felt it was important to learn about the history of our area and of the people who live here. In 2020, Mr. Pawling passed away, and kindly remembered the library in his will. He asked only that the library use a portion of his gift for new seating in the meeting room to make sure that people attending library events would be more comfortable.
The Library Board and staff purchased new seating for the meeting room and decided to go even further in light of Mr. Pawling's generosity. The 20-year-old meeting room got a new, updated look, with new carpet and paint, to ensure it would be more useful and inviting for library patrons. The room will now be known as the John William Pawling Community Room, both to honor his memory and to emphasize that the room and the events that take place inside are for the benefit of the community.
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Library staff believe that getting together to attend events in the library—including local history programs like those appreciated by Mr. Pawling--helps build a greater sense of community. Currently, the room hosts events like math tutoring programs for children, book clubs, movie matinees, blood drives, yoga classes, and so much more. It is a place where the community can gather to have fun, ask questions, and share knowledge.
In 2024, the library is celebrating 68 years of service to the Lower Southampton community, and 20 years in our Bridgetown Pike location. Their next goal is to continue the design plans and the fundraising for the Joan and Gary Bowman's Children's Room project. Changes are indeed coming for the library--this is only the beginning!
