About Us

The Dimmick Memorial Library and Penn Kidder Branch are committed to protecting your privacy by keeping personally identifiable information confidential. Our commitment to your privacy has deep roots in the law and in the ethics and practices of librarianship. The library holds true to the values of the American Library Association, affirming that, “Privacy is essential to the exercise of free speech, free thought, and free association.” As such, we “protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired, or transmitted.”

State law protects your library records from disclosure if a member of the public or the media requests them. Library records include any written or electronic record used to identify a patron. This includes, but is not limited to, your borrowing history, name, address, telephone number, or email address. Although the library does everything we can in order to protect your privacy, there are times when we may be required by law to provide this information. Library records may be subject to disclosure to law enforcement officials under provisions of state law, the USA PATRIOT ACT, or in a civil lawsuit. Library staff may be forbidden from reporting to you that your records have been requested or obtained under provisions of the USA PATRIOT ACT.

View our full privacy policy here:

Library materials and services are available for educational as well as entertainment uses, and patrons should keep in mind that these resources are in the library to be shared by all. We ask all our library users to remain sensitive to the fact that they are working in a public environment shared by people of all ages, with a variety of information interests and needs.

View our full patron behavior policy here:

Read our collection development policy here:

Use our website to “Request a Library Card.” This will take you to an online form to get started. Library staff will review your application and contact you to make arrangements for you to get your physical card.

If you come into the library, you will need:

Photo Identification: Valid PA Driver’s License or Valid PA Photo Identification Card with your CURRENT address

OR

Photo ID AND proof of your current address:

Valid PA Driver’s License or PA Photo ID and a Current utility bill (water, gas, electric, phone) or other mail received at your current address (at the discretion of the Library Director).

Other Requirements

Children ages 0 to 17 years must be accompanied by a parent with photo ID and proof of current address when signing up for a library card.

If you lose your library card: Library cardholders must inform us in person or call us by phone to invalidate a lost library card and prevent others from using it. A replacement fee of $2.00 will be charged to reissue a library card.

Library card security:

You are financially responsible for everything that is checked out on your library card. Do not let other people use your library card or the items you check out.

Change of address:

Let us know if your contact information changes (address, phone number, email address).

The library’s physical collection includes:

Books: Fiction & Non-fiction and Audiobooks for Children, Young Adults, and Adults. Adult Large Print.

Movies and TV series: DVDs, Children & Adult

Loan Periods:

New Adult Fiction books can be checked out for 2 weeks and be renewed twice.

DVDs (less than 4 hours of content) can be checked out for 1 week and can be renewed twice.

DVD Series (more than 4 hours of content) can be checked out for 2 weeks and can be renewed twice.

All other books and audiobooks can be checked out for 3 weeks and can be renewed 2 times.

Limits:

Maximum of 20 reading items—books, audiobooks, magazines) at a time can be checked out on each library card.

Maximum 5 DVDs per card are allowed to be checked out at a time.

Children under 6 may have additional limits on their card. Contact the Library for more information.

Items will be renewed automatically if there are renewals available. You can either check your account on the My Account page or call the front desk to check on your renewal status or renew an item early.

You can renew most items two times, unless that item is on hold for another patron, or if there is a balance of $10 or more on your library card account. There are a few special collections, like Museum Passes, that can't be renewed.

The Lehigh Carbon Library Cooperative has a policy of no Overdue Fines effective September 2021.

• Approved loan periods apply to all items

• Overdue notices will continue to be sent to patrons with wording noting that there will not be any fines charged upon the items’ return, but that the replacement cost of the items, plus a processing fee, if applicable, will be charged if the items are not returned

• Items that are 28 days overdue are assumed lost and patrons will be billed for the replacement and processing costs. If lost items are returned prior to the bill being paid, the replacement and processing fees will be cleared.

• Patrons with $10 or more in fees will be temporarily blocked from borrowing additional items until items are returned or the account is settled, and may be blocked from using library databases, e-resources, and in-house computers, depending on each library’s policies

• Patrons will be responsible for paying fees associated with past and future damaged and lost items

• Patrons will be responsible for outstanding collection agency fees, regardless of the reason the account was sent to the collection agency

• Patrons will be responsible for overdue fees on inter-library loan items charged by any owning library not affiliated with LCLC

• Special Collection items such as Museum Passes, Stem Kits, Makerspace Items, Musical Instruments, Ipads, Wi-fi Hotspots and other electronic equipment will continue to be charged overdue fines in accordance with each library’s policies

No. The library has a Fixed Replacement Cost policy for all lost and damaged materials. Besides the cost of the item, there are processing costs including staff time and materials to make the book “shelf ready.” The library also reserves the right to choose the exact format of the replacement copy; i.e. hardcover, paperback, library binding, etc.

Yes. There are book return boxes in front of the Dimmick Memorial Library and Penn Kidder Library. Items that may not be returned in the book drops include (but are not limited to): Museum Passes, Mobile Hot Spots. Also, you may return your items to any library in the LCLC.

The Lehigh Carbon Library Cooperative, also called LCLC, is a cooperative formed by Lehighton, Catasauqua, Coplay, Dimmick Emmaus, Lower Macungie, Palmerton, Parkland, Penn Kidder, Slatington, Southern Lehigh and Whitehall public libraries.

All of these libraries now share the library collection materials together.

A library card from any one of these libraries gives you access to all of them.

Choose from 550,000+ items including books, DVDs, audiobooks, eBooks and more.

Request items from any of these libraries they will be available in as little as 1-2 days

Yes, we do accept book donations. We respectfully ask that you bring your donations into the library during regular business hours and do not put donated books into the outside book drops or leave them outside the front entrance. Please note that all items must be in good condition with no water or mold damage. We do not accept magazines, textbooks, encyclopedias and other items. Items we do accept include recent fiction and non-fiction, good-condition children’s materials. Acceptance of donations is at the discretion of library staff.