$5.28 Million in Keystone Grants for Public Library Facilities Awarded I am very pleased to announce on behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Education that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will be awarding 21 municipalities in 17 counties with $5.28 million in Keystone grant funds to improve their local libraries. The matching grants, ranging from a low of $5,250 to a high of $750,000, will help support significant library building improvements.
Library Projects
Please join me in congratulating the following libraries:
| County |
Municipality |
Project Library |
Amount awarded |
Brief Project Description |
| Allegheny |
Borough of Sewickley |
Sewickley Public Library |
$750,000.00 |
Replace original Spanish tile roof, ten historic windows, and the HVAC system. |
| Allegheny |
Borough of Carnegie |
Andrew Carnegie Free Library |
$154,493.00 |
Convert unimproved space on a partial floor into meeting program space: the Mezzanine. |
| Beaver |
Borough of Ambridge |
Laughlin Memorial Library |
$227,336.14 |
Replace roof; replace exterior security lighting; upgrade surveillance system; clean and repair exterior building surfaces. |
| Blair |
Boro of Bellwood |
Bellwood-Antis Public Library |
$5,250.00 |
Complete a building and site assessment report detailing problems with the building and developing a budget to eliminate these problems. |
| Butler |
City of Butler |
Butler Area Public Library |
$29,286.00 |
Replace some flooring and carpeting throughout the building; update signage and fixtures for ADA compliance. |
| Cambria |
Cambria County |
Cambria County Library |
$364,100.00 |
Replace third-floor HVAC with a high-efficiency system to improve air quality and energy efficiency. |
| Clinton |
City of Lock Haven |
Annie Halenbake Ross Library |
$23,950.00 |
Replace a leaking roof from a 1960s section of building. |
| Crawford |
Boro of Springboro |
Springboro Public Library |
$10,000.00 |
Correct an interior wall which is deteriorating due to efflorescence. |
| Delaware |
Upper Darby Township |
Upper Darby Twp. & Sellers Memorial Free Public Library |
$25,000.00 |
Complete planning study analyzing the three Township libraries to determine how to modernize the facilities to best serve the population. |
| Delaware |
Township of Haverford |
Haverford Township Free Library |
$750,000.00 |
Renovation to update the Library to make it ADA-compliant, energy efficient, more spacious, and improve workflow. |
| Erie |
Albion Borough |
Albion Area Public Library |
$29,910.00 |
Replace a crumbling ADA handicap accessible ramp on the rear of the building. |
| Erie |
Erie County |
Blasco Memorial Library |
$117,757.50 |
Renovate to construct ADA-accessible restrooms on the library’s second floor; upgrade existing 25-year old elevators. |
| Lancaster |
City of Lancaster |
Lancaster Public Library |
$750,000.00 |
Create a new, improved, more accessible Lancaster Public Library in the heart of downtown Lancaster. |
| Lancaster |
Ephrata Borough |
Ephrata Public Library |
$32,470.91 |
Upgrade original lighting fixtures and bulbs to an energy-efficient LED system. |
| Lebanon |
Annville Township |
Annville Free Library |
$750,000.00 |
Construct an addition with upgraded ADA entrances/restrooms, wider stairway to lower level, improved energy efficiency, a larger youth area, and expanded, central patron services area. |
| Mercer |
City of Sharon |
Community Library of the Shenango Valley |
$162,113.50 |
Make necessary structural, security, and energy-saving improvements to the library building. |
| Montgomery |
North Wales Borough |
North Wales Area Library |
$90,000.00 |
Remove entire upper roof to the concrete deck and install new blocking, flashing, insulation, and rubber membrane. |
| Northumberland |
Borough of Mt. Carmel |
Mount Carmel Area Public Library |
$59,000.00 |
Replace the Library’s HVAC, heating, and lighting systems as well as address cracks on its southern wall. |
| Philadelphia |
City of Philadelphia |
Free Library of Philadelphia: Frankford Library |
$750,000.00 |
Renovation/construction making Frankford Library accessible and responsive to the public. |
| Pike |
Pike County |
Pike County Public Library |
$120,000.00 |
Complete the construction of the Milford location providing improved space specifically for the children’s section. |
| York |
County of York |
York County Libraries: Glatfelter Memorial Library |
$80,000.00 |
Renovation to increase energy efficiency and ADA compliance |
About the Keystone Grant Program
The Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund was established by an act of the General Assembly in 1993. The Department of Education, through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Bureau of Library Development, administers the public library portion of this program which is funded from a portion of the state’s realty transfer tax.
Grants pay up to 50 percent of eligible costs in planning, acquisition, construction and rehabilitation of public libraries. Examples of fundable projects include, but are not limited to: ADA upgrades, new roof, replacement windows, energy efficient upgrades to HVAC systems, facility expansion and new construction.
A competitive grant application process is used to award matching facilities grants to municipalities that sponsor state-aided public libraries. To be eligible, the sponsoring municipality and the board of the state-aided library must jointly submit an application developed cooperatively by both entities and signed by their governing bodies. The Keystone grant requires a dollar-for-dollar match.
View the formal Press Release from the Pennsylvania Department of Education online here.
We anticipate opening the next round of Keystone grant opportunities in summer of 2022.
Susan Banks
Susan Banks, MLIS | Acting Deputy Secretary & State Librarian
Office of Commonwealth Libraries | Pennsylvania Department of Education
333 Market Street | Harrisburg PA 17126
This communication is issued on the Deputy Secretary’s behalf by Carrie Cleary, Executive Assistant (ccleary@pa.gov; 717-783-5725). |
