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Scranton Now Offering Notary Services

The Scranton Memorial Library is now offering a new notary service that will be available to all patrons. The program, just begun with the coordination by Library Head of Public Services Allison Murphy, will handle most notary procedures for a nominal donation.

Notaries can be difficult to find these days. Some banks perform this service, but the library saw a real need, Murphy said, and decided to initiate the program.

“We look at libraries as obviously wonderful places for books, movies, and magazines, but libraries are so much more than that,” Murphy said. “They are a wonderful place to gather, they’re a place for people to learn, they’re a place to meet with friends, to group meetings and also to provide services and notary public is definitely a need.”

The library is open late on Tuesday evenings and Murphy works one Saturday a month to accommodate patrons who may not be able to use the library during business hours, according to Murphy.

Murphy said patrons are welcome to stop in any time, but suggests that patrons call first to assure that Murphy is working and available. As a notary certification is specific to an individual, and not the library or its other staff, Murphy is the only legally certified person at Scranton who can perform these duties.

Most notaries will not ordinarily notarize wills, and Murphy said the library does not perform that particular notarization, but will perform most other document notarizations. Wills should be drafted and notarized by an attorney for the assurance of it being legally codified.

Murphy took the training and said she really enjoys assisting patrons with these matters. The library will also soon be providing passport services as well, according to Murphy.

“It’s really to help people and provide a service and show that the library is more than just bricks and mortar and books. Of course for me, I’m a book lover and it will always be founded in that for me, but we want to connect people and we want to help them,” Murphy said.

Murphy emphasizes that people should not sign any documents that need notarization before arriving as the point of a notary is to witness the signature.

Library Director Sunnie Scarpa said this service is another way for the library to respond to patron needs.

“We were hopeful that by having a library staff member take the necessary training to become a notary public, we’d be able to offer those services by appointment and create a more convenient way for community members to have their needs for notary services met. In the first few months we’ve already found that has definitely been the case,” said Scarpa. “The convenient location, great hours, and availability of some evening and weekends appointments makes these services really accessible for our community. We’re so happy we can meet their needs and I’m grateful that I always have staff members willing to go the extra mile to help our library patrons.”