Sewickley Public Library receives $750,000 grant for facility upgrades
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Sewickley Public Library received a $750,000 Keystone Grant for Public Library Facilities, as part of nearly $5.3 million in funding awarded to 21 libraries in 17 counties for the construction and rehabilitation of public library facilities.
The Keystone grants are offered to help public library facilities improve operations, install equipment and upgrade security systems. Recipients are selected through a competitive grant process.
At the Sewickley facility, grant monies will be used to replace the Spanish tile roof on the building’s original section that dates to 1923, along with 10 fan-shaped original windows in that section. The library also has an addition that dates to 1999.
The grant also will cover the replacement of the air conditioning system that serves the entire building at 500 Thorn St.
“A lot of care was taken to match that 1923 Spanish tile roof,” said Michelle Cleary, the library’s development associate. “It’s very beautiful, very characteristic. The new part also has that same style roof.”
The new tiles will match the originals aesthetically and visually.
”We put a lot of care into planning that. We’ve worked very closely with the Sewickley Historical Commission,” Cleary said. “They’ve looked at all of our plans, and they are very happy with what we’re doing. We wanted to make sure that everything we chose was a good choice and would keep the historical integrity of the building.”
Five of the windows that will be replaced face Thorn Street, while the other five are adjacent to the addition. The replacements also will replicate the originals exactly.
The air conditioning system is aging, Cleary said, “and it just can’t keep up any longer. We actually had some days last year when we had to close our children’s library because it was 85 degrees in there. (The heat) is not good for collections, but it’s not good for people, either.”
In preparing to submit the grant proposal, Cleary said, an environmental monitor was installed in the library.
”I think that was part of the success of the grant, to quantify what we’ve been dealing with and how we need to improve it,” she said.
This was the second consecutive year the library applied for a Keystone Grant.
“We felt that we came close in 2020 and decided to reapply. We’re so glad that we did,” Cleary said.
In addition to the Historical Review Commission, the library received support through the application process from Sewickley Borough, Quaker Valley School District board of directors, Allegheny County Library Association and local legislators Rep. Valerie Gaydos and Sen. Devlin Robinson.
“This Keystone Grant will assist in the preservation of our historic public library in a financially sound and historically pleasing way,” Cleary said.
Other Western Pennsylvania libraries receiving Keystone Grants for Public Library Facilities include:
• Andrew Carnegie Free Library, Carnegie, Allegheny County — $154,493
• Butler Area Public Library, Butler, Butler County — $29,286
• Cambria County Library, Johnstown — $364,100
• Community Library of the Shenango Valley, Sharon, Mercer County — $162,113.50
• Laughlin Memorial Library, Ambridge, Beaver County — $227,336
“Public libraries are a community staple — helping residents access critical services, resources and programming, from educational materials to broadband,” said Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Noe Ortega. “This year’s round of Keystone Library grants will help Pennsylvania’s libraries improve their facilities and operations to better serve visitors and patrons.”
The library grant program is a portion of the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund, which was established by the General Assembly in 1993. Administered by the Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Bureau of Library Development, it is funded from a portion of the state’s realty transfer tax.