How can the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania help your library?
Read on to find out more about our partner, their involvement in literacy, and how we can work
with them to promote civic and social literacy.
Our Partner: The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania
is a statewide, nonprofit, bipartisan association representing the elected and appointed leaders of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.
Partner Profile:
The CCAP works to strengthen Pennsylvania counties’ ability to govern their own affairs and improve the well-being and quality of life of their constituents. It does this by advocating for favorable state and federal legislation, programs and policies, and provides programs, services and training to its membership, county leaders, and their staff. The CCAP also educates and informs Pennsylvania’s citizens about county government.
Resources for Libraries?
A number of informative publications are available. Physical copies may be purchased for a nominal fee from Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED): Order Form .
Christie Himmelreich, Schuylkill Valley Community Library
Most are also available as a free PDF download from DCED’s website. Here are a few that might interest you:
- Citizen’s Guide to Pennsylvania Local Government
- Manual for County Commissioners
- Open Meeting: The Sunshine Act
Which Literacy & Why?
The CCAP strives to educate and inform the public, administrative, legislative and regulatory bodies, decision makers, and the media about county government. This aligns with PA Forward’s Civic and Social Literacy category.
How is the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania working with PaLA?
“The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania recognizes that libraries are ideally positioned to improve county constituents’ quality of life and to help citizens know about and understand how local government works,” says Douglas E. Hill, Executive Director, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.
To that end, the CCAP has played an active role in PA Forward’s first Civic Literacy Summit in 2014, and is currently helping PaLA to develop plans for a second Civic Literacy Summit scheduled for March 8, 2016 at Dickinson School of Law.
In addition, the CCAP worked with PaLA to edit the most recent published edition of the Manual for County Commissioners to be certain it included up-to-date information on the role public libraries and library systems play in county government. It also has worked with PaLA to update its 2015-2016 Pennsylvania County Platform to be sure it reflects the association’s position regarding the need for effective public libraries and strong state support of libraries.
Who to Contact: Douglas E. Hill, dhill@pacounties.org
Andrea Hartranft, Harrisburg Area Community College
Christie Himmelreich, Schuylkill Valley Community Library
Nicole Husbands, Indian Valley Public Library
Laura Laspee, Clymer Library
Amy Snyder, Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences