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by Jane Stahl
Librarians. You know the stereotype. Older women, their gray haired pulled tightly into a bun on the top of their heads. Frequently seen with fingers to their lips, scowling, urging silence in their holy domain among dusty books.
But in Boyertown, one must set that stereotype aside and meet Denise Pulgino Stout, director of the Boyertown Area Community Library. Denise didn’t plan to become a librarian; her dream was to become an actor—the next Carol Burnett, actually. Her college degree is in theatre arts.
The acting skills she acquired led her to a job as a paraprofessional bringing activities like storytelling to children’s pre-schools. One job interview for a position as a children’s library paraprofessional offering activities required her to memorize a classic story titled “Andy and the Lion” and read it. Denise recalls that she won the position over another candidate whose performance of the lion scared the interviewer!
She grew to love the idea of becoming a librarian, inspired by her mentor and boss at the Norristown Public Library—the 4th largest library in the state, eventually earned her Master’s degree in Library Science after a hiatus to conquer a serious illness, and accepted the executive director’s position in Boyertown in August 2022.
“There are the best people here,” Denise claims. “The teamwork and willingness to help one another is so refreshing. These people like each other and the Board supports us,” she adds with some surprise.
She’ll need that support for the renovations and goals she describes coming in the library’s future. Plans are in place to make the second floor more open and usable for meetings and assorted activities. In the children’s space, moving the computers to their own room will allow greater productivity. A capital campaign to supplement the Hollenbach family’s generous funding will be needed to change the front door separating the library from an entrance and elevator to the second floor’s meeting area that will need to be handicap accessible.
New to the Boyertown Community Library’s services is a “Library of Things.” “You can borrow things you need from the library—things you may not need every day, but things you want to use for a specific event or time. A croquet or pickleball set, a waffle maker, Bluetooth speakers, for example, are currently available from our Library of Things,” she explains.
“We need display cases so folks know these things are available to them,” Denise adds, “but it’s exciting to be able to offer these items as parts of the library’s collections.”
“And the library is now ‘fine free’ for books; we automatically renew items checked out: video games, CD’s, DVD’s too,” Denise explains.
Times have surely changed over the years. Card catalogues have vanished; an impressive array of activities is offered to attract the many interests of the community. Story Walk® around Boyertown, Lego Challenge, Scrabble Club, New Year New You: Gentle Yin Yoga, Lap Sit Story Time, Teen Movie Night, Who Was Rosa Parks are a few offered. Fiber art groups for Crochet and Knitting complement the art of quilting that Denise enjoys.
And BTW: Denise has given her husband the "go ahead" to divorce her if he ever finds her graying hair pulled tightly to the top of her head in the iconic librarian "bun!"
Find more information about the library’s schedule of activities on The Boyertown Area Expression’s events listings kept current by library assistant Sairra Cloen. A "B Inspired" podcast episode is available featuring Denise on your favorite podcast platform including Spotify, Apple,Google, Anchor.fm, Castbox.
More News from Boyertown
- "B Inspired": Sunny Finley Welcomes Young Artists for Fun Art Activities Sunny Finley has developed a full schedule of fun art activities for young artists on Second Saturdays.
- 1987 BASH Grad Jeffrey Clouser Publishes Article Article by 1987 BASH grad Jeffrey Clouser is featured in the Fall 2025/Winter 2026 issue of the CrossAccent: A Journal of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.
