Representatives of the Life of the Mind Consortium were invited to visit most of the public libraries in Lancaster County with Renee Christensen, Youth Coordinator of the Library System of Lancaster County, to determine how the Consortium might be able to help those libraries improve their facilities for children and youth. Our primary concern is finding ways to make these facilities more attractive, more comfortable, and more appealing to young library patrons. The librarians were aware of the “Critter Sitter” stools Consortium members had made to accompany “Happy Hippo” in the Strasburg-Heisler Library. These sturdy, low stools are bright, colorful, and image-filled with a sense of joy and imagination. They are very popular with the children in Strasburg who can easily move them to their own special place to look for or sit and read a book. Thus, they were requested by many other librarians for their children’s areas.

The original stools were individually hand-crafted by Hank Copelman, a Willow Valley resident; but the number of requests made it clear that additional help was required. Len Litowitz, Professor & Technology Education Program Coordinator, Department of Industry & Technology at Millersville University came to our rescue. The Consortium purchased the necessary materials under its H.W. Wilson Foundation Grant; and Professor Litowitz and his students cut, assembled and sanded fifty of the critter sitters on one Saturday.