by Heather Sharpe | Dec 11, 2025 | BLD News, BLD Updates, Office of Commonwealth Libraries, State Aid
Thank you again to everyone who has remained interested in our work on the state aid statutory funding formula. We appreciate your patience and continued attention to this effort. As promised, we wanted to provide an update. Since our last message, we held the second...
by Heather Smith | Dec 1, 2025 | BLD News, Children's Services, Office of Commonwealth Libraries
The Bureau of Library Development (BLD) in the Office of Commonwealth Libraries (OCL) invites you to register for the first of four quarterly Early Childhood Conversations (ECC) sessions in 2026. This community of practice series is for all library staff and...
by Abbey Lukiewski | Nov 25, 2025 | BLD News, BLD Updates, Library News, Professional Development
Hello! We are in the process of finalizing details for the 2026 Statewide Gatherings. We know that the earlier we let you know where and when the events are happening, the better. For the 2026 events, we are looking at hosting events on three of the following dates,...
by Amy Geisinger | Nov 24, 2025 | BLD News, Data, Office of Commonwealth Libraries
The Public Library and Funding Recipient Data LibGuide and the Library Research & Statistics page of the State Library of Pennsylvania website now contain an updated interactive tool. The Pennsylvania Public Library Data tool displays data from the Annual Report –...
by Carrie Cleary | Nov 19, 2025 | BLD Updates, Office of Commonwealth Libraries (OCL) News, State Agency Information, State Aid
We are pleased to share with you that the budget impasse ended on November 12, 2025. Details are available here: Governor Shapiro Signs 2025-26 Budget into Law. Additional information can be found in the following bills: SB 160 (budget detail) and SB 315 (school code...
by Kristin LaVanish | Nov 5, 2025 | Accessibility, Adult Services, BLD News, Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Pennsylvania, rural, Rural and Small Libraries, State Agency Information, Workforce
The Bureau of Workforce Partnership and Operations (BWPO) and the Bureau of Library Development (BLD) invite you to an engaging panel discussion highlighting the powerful impact of partnerships between PA CareerLink® offices and libraries across the Commonwealth. This...
by Corri Hines | Nov 4, 2025 | Belonging, School Libraries, Teen
The Bureau of Library Development (BLD) in the Office of Commonwealth Libraries (OCL) invites you to participate in 8-8TEEN Quarterly Conversations, a series of virtual community of practice sessions to discuss all aspects of library services for youth ages 8-18 in...
by Carrie Cleary | Nov 3, 2025 | Adult Services, Disaster Preparedness and Response, Health Focus, Resources of Interest, State Agency Information
Sharing the message directly below from Acting Secretary of Education, Carrie Rowe, Ed.D.: Dear Colleague, I am writing to inform you about recent developments impacting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in Pennsylvania, and some...
by Carrie Cleary | Oct 24, 2025 | Deputy Secretary of Education and Commissioner for Libraries, Pennsylvania, State Agency Information, Youth
OCL is sharing this message about a new grant opportunity for an engaging program on behalf of our friends at PA Humanities. Message from PA Humanities: Hello Friends, The Rain Poetry Toolkit is now live! Rain Poetry is a creative project that combines the...
by Mike Reilly | Oct 23, 2025 | State Aid
Hello Everyone, The 12% collection expenditure requirement for the Incentive for Excellence category of State Aid is now based on the previous year’s total operating expenditure instead of the current year’s total operating expenditure. For example, if ABC...
