Delaware
Some libraries in Delaware County would benefit from merging resources, consultant says
Shortly before Delaware County was set to celebrate National Libraries Week, a consultant told officials some libraries need to merge services if they want to survive.
Without naming the libraries but noting they are are in the southeastern portion of the county, Rob Cullen, managing principal of Rethinking Libraries, said three to 10 of the county’s 28 libraries, are in trouble.
“There was a pretty good cohort of libraries that I would say are well below average and in our estimation, are on an unsustainable trajectory,” he said after doing an analysis of each member of the Delaware County Library System. “Some are probably even today already at an almost unviable level.”
This week, Delaware County, and public libraries across the United States, are celebrating National Library Week.
Among various activities, such as viewing the eclipse Monday, is Read at Rose Tree Wednesday night from 5:30 to 7. Residents are encouraged to bring a book and a lawn chair or blanket to read simultaneously as others read by the Rose Tree Park amphitheater.
Regarding the Rethinking Libraries analysis, the firm was hired by Delaware County Council last summer to do an evaluation of library services offered in the county.
The team visited all of the locations, meeting with staff and others, and had the libraries perform a self-assessment based on criteria they offered. They also compared each library location to state and county standards.
Some performed incredibly well.
SUBMITTED PHOTO,
Marple Library was noted for its community engagement. Above, a children’s program. (DAILY TIMES)
“We got what we almost refer to as model libraries … they’re above average usage and funding,” Cullen said. “A few are actually best in class within the region, even some nationally in certain aspects of what they’re doing.”
He noted Marple with their community engagement and Middletown’s Maker Space program.
Cullen said the highest number of libraries per capita were in the southeastern part of the county with only Manhattan having more.
He recommended that the Delaware County Library Board lead a conversation with several of those in the region who are interested, particularly if they are on an unsustainable road.
“Is there a path to merging some of them?” Cullen asked. “Not in terms of trying to merge them into a single location but perhaps turning all of these single individual libraries into branches of a unified group of libraries.”
He does not recommend using force.
“Nothing that would be forced on anyone but an option that would provide a more sustainable path and get better efficiencies for those communities and ultimately better services for those communities,” Cullen said, as he added, “Not all municipalities in this county would be interested.”
However, he said some, without naming them, are struggling and might not make it long-term if some solution isn’t found.
He said perhaps a merger of oversight and management with these individual libraries as branches so that the unique character of each community would be retained.
Cullen explained a problem shared by a few.
“Quite a few of these libraries, by state standard, have to be open 45 hours a week and they’re run by a director that’s part-time,” he said. “That, to us, is not a sustainable model.”
The Rethinking Libraries evaluation analyzed the libraries in a multitude of ways.
Looking at facilities, resources, staffing levels and open hours and community awareness and engagement, the J. Lewis Crozer Library and the Darby Library inadequate/needs improvement ratings in every category.
The Collingdale library received an inadequate/needs improvement rating in all but the facilities category. Folcroft also received three inadequate/needs improvements, except for its resources.
And, the Upper Darby Township libraries, the Glenolden library and the Prospect Park library received two inadequate/needs improvement ratings each.
Aston Township and the Rachel Kohl Library received a needs improvement rating for staffing levels and open hours. Sharon Hill and the Mary M. Campbell libraries received the same rating for their community awareness and engagement.
The entire report can be read at www.delcolibraries.org/News-Systemwide-Evaluation.
In his presentation, Cullen also noted the funding disparity.
“One of the things that kind of stood out to us is the funding level for libraries in Delaware County is low,” he said.
In Delco, libraries are funded with a mix of state, county and local funding at $26 per capita. The Pennsylvania average, Cullen said, is $30 per capita with the Greater Philadelphia average being $39. The national average, he added, is $41.
Plus, even within Delaware County, Cullen said some libraries are funded as high as $70 per person and others as low as $7.
County Councilwoman Christine Reuther said the shortfall to fill that gap would be between $2.3 million and $2.5 million.
“If that difference was to be made up by the county, that would be about a 1.5% tax increase to make that up,” she said, adding that’s not something being considered right now.
County Councilman Kevin Madden highlighted the importance of working together.
“Delaware County has more municipalities per square mile than any county in the United States,” he said. “It’s the most fragmented county in the United States. It’s not a bad thing or good thing, it’s just what it is.”
And while each one has its own unique identity, it creates challenges for these towns in having a smaller ability to gain revenue while having to provide services such as police, fire and libraries.
Madden said it would be advantageous to help some of these smaller municipalities to work together.
“What’s really coming out is we’ve got to find ways to cooperate,” he said.
Claiming lottery in Delaware
18 states have laws that allow national lottery prize jackpot winners to remain anonymous, but is Delaware among them?
The Delaware Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025 results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from Dec. 16 drawing
20-24-46-59-65, Mega Ball: 07
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Play 3 numbers from Dec. 16 drawing
Day: 7-1-2
Night: 0-1-8
Check Play 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Play 4 numbers from Dec. 16 drawing
Day: 5-5-8-3
Night: 4-2-6-8
Check Play 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Multi-Win Lotto numbers from Dec. 16 drawing
10-21-22-24-26-33
Check Multi-Win Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Dec. 16 drawing
03-04-19-24-39, Lucky Ball: 11
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Play 5 numbers from Dec. 16 drawing
Day: 6-6-3-8-7
Night: 8-7-0-5-4
Check Play 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
- Sign the Ticket: Establish legal ownership by signing the back of your ticket with an ink pen.
- Prizes up to $599: Claim at any Delaware Lottery Retailer, in person at the Delaware Lottery Office, or mail your signed ticket and claim form; print your name/address on the ticket’s back and keep a copy/photo for records. By mail, send original tickets and documentation to: Delaware Lottery, 1575 McKee Road, Suite 102, Dover, DE 19904.
- Prizes up to $2,500: Claim in person at Delaware Lottery Retailer Claim Centers throughout Kent, Sussex and New Castle Counties.
- Prizes of $5,001 or more: Claim in person at the Delaware Lottery Office (business days 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) with a photo ID and Social Security card.
- For all prize claims, directions to the Delaware Lottery Office are available online or via mapquest.com for a map.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Delaware Lottery.
Can I claim a jackpot prize anonymously in Delaware?
Fortunately for First State residents, the Delaware Lottery allows winners remain anonymous. Unlike many other states that require a prize be over a certain jackpot, Delawareans can remain anonymous no matter how much, or how little, they win.
How long do I have to claim my prize in Delaware?
Tickets are valid for up to one year past the drawing date for drawing game prizes or within one year of the announced end of sales for Instant Games, according to delottery.com.
When are the Delaware Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.
- Play 3, 4: Daily at 1:58 p.m. and 7:57 p.m., except Sunday afternoon.
- Multi-Win Lotto: 7:57 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: Daily at 10:38 p.m.
- Lotto America: 11:00 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Delaware Online digital operations manager. You can send feedback using this form.
Delaware
Trump will go to Delaware for the dignified transfer of the 2 National Guard members killed in Syria
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is traveling to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday for a dignified transfer for the two Iowa National Guard members killed in an attack in the Syrian desert that is testing the rapprochement between Washington and Damascus.
The two guardsmen killed in the attack on Saturday were Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, according to the U.S. Army. Both were members of the 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment. A U.S. civilian working as an interpreter was also killed.
The ritual at Dover Air Force Base honors U.S. service members killed in action and is one of the most solemn duties undertaken by the commander in chief.
During the process, transfer cases draped with the American flag holding the remains of fallen soldiers are carried from the military aircraft that carried them to Dover to an awaiting vehicle to transport them to the mortuary facility at the base. There, the fallen service members are prepared for their final resting place.
Trump, a Republican, said during his first term that witnessing the dignified transfer of service members’ remains is “the toughest thing I have to do” as president.
Remembered as ‘the best of Iowa’
The Iowa National Guard is remembering the two men as heroes. Howard’s stepfather, Jeffrey Bunn, said Howard “loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out,” noting that he had wanted to be a soldier since he was a young boy.
In a post on the Meskwaki Nation Police Department’s Facebook page, Bunn – who is chief of the Tama, Iowa, department – called Howard a loving husband and an “amazing man of faith” and said Howard’s brother, a staff sergeant in the Iowa National Guard, would escort “Nate” back to Iowa.
Torres-Tovar was remembered as a “very positive” person who was family oriented and someone who always put others first, according to fellow guardsmen who were deployed with Torres-Tovar and issued a statement to the local TV broadcast station WOI.
“They were dedicated professionals and cherished members of our Guard family who represented the best of Iowa,” said Maj. Gen. Stephen Osborn, adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard.
Trump stands by Syrian leader al-Sharaa
On Saturday, Trump told reporters that he was mourning the deaths and vowed retaliation.
Trump said Monday that he remained confident in the leadership of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the onetime leader of an Islamic insurgent group who led the ouster of former President Bashar Assad, whose family had an iron grip on Syrian rule for decades.
The U.S. president welcomed al-Sharaa to Washington last month for a historic visit to the White House and formally welcomed Syria as a member of the U.S.-led coalition to fight the Islamic State group. Hundreds of U.S. troops are deployed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting IS.
“This had nothing to do with him,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “This had to do with ISIS.”
Three other members of the Iowa National Guard were injured in the attack. As of Monday, two were in stable condition and the other in good condition. The Pentagon has not identified them.
Trump traveled to Dover several times during his first term to honor the fallen, including for a U.S. Navy SEAL killed during a raid in Yemen, for two Army officers whose helicopter crashed in Afghanistan and for two Army soldiers killed in Afghanistan when a person dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire.
The fiscal year 2027 forecast remained relatively flat from the October meeting. But some expenses declined, including salaries for teachers. Brian Maxwell, state director of Management and Budget, said teacher salary expenses were down because student enrollment has dropped. He said federal immigration policy could be impacting the state’s Multilingual Learners.
“Obviously, there have been a number of students that may not be showing up to class just because of the enforcement of [Immigration and Customs Enforcement],” he said. “So some of the families may be scared to actually send their kids to school.”
Maxwell said overall enrollment is down, but the number of students needing special education services is up. The next student count is in February.
DEFAC members also discussed the revised Healthcare Spending benchmark. In September, the subcommittee devised a methodology that only used healthcare inflation, resulting in a 7.13% for 2026.
“We all gathered in October and there was a fair amount of concern with that outcome,” said Christen Linke Young, director of Health and Social Services. “So the subcommittee reconvened earlier this month to consider a new approach.”
After adopting the methodology using expected national inflation data and a three-year measure of health care cost growth, the benchmark now sits at 4.9%. But Young said there would be no penalty for hospitals exceeding the guideline.
Gov. Meyer and the state’s largest nongovernmental employer, ChristianaCare Health System, reached an agreement earlier this year in a lawsuit the regional hospital system filed last year. The Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board was created by lawmakers in June 2024 to try to rein in hospital spending. But the agreement, which requires new legislation and the governor’s signature, would strip the board of its authority to approve and modify hospital budgets.
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