Glenn Miller, Deputy Secretary & Commissioner for Libraries
Keystone Grant Awards
I am very pleased to announce on behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Education that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will be awarding 27 municipalities with Keystone grants to improve their local libraries.
The grants, ranging from a low of $6,500 to a high of $750,000 will help support significant library building improvements. All grants will be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis. The libraries benefiting from these grants are listed below.
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 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.
We anticipate that the next round of major Keystone grant awards (up to $750,000) will be made in Fall 2019. Our target date for accepting applications for review will be in early 2019.
Library Projects:
Please join me in congratulating the following libraries:
| Keystone 2018 | ||||
| Funded Projects | ||||
| Project | Municipality | County | Amount Awarded | Brief Project Description |
| Northland Public Library Authority | Ross Township | Allegheny | $568,973.00 | Replace leaking roof & skylight; upgrade HVAC system for efficient performance. |
| Cranberry Public Library | Cranberry Township | Butler | $475,964.00 | ADA main entrance doors; new carpeting; LED lighting upgrades; create Makerspace. |
| Shaler North Hills Library | Shaler Township | Allegheny | $45,500.00 | Install 39 energy-efficient windows; replace carpet in one children’s room. |
| Hershey Public Library | Derry Township | Dauphin | $529,784.00 | Add ADA family entrance and reading garden to side of library; relocate work room to expand children’s area; create teen space. |
| East Berlin Community Library dba Jean Barnett Trone Memorial Library of Berlin | East Berlin Borough | Adams | $112,948.00 | Convert basement level to usable space, including programming and storage spaces; upgrade basement restroom to ADA compliance; install automatic ADA doors to front entrance of library. |
| Centre County Library and Historical Museum: Holt Memorial Library Branch | Centre County | Centre | $27,000.00 | Replace outdated and inefficient HVAC. |
| Lower Merion Lib. Syst. / Ludington Library | Lower Merion Township | Montgomery | $260,000.00 | Replace windows, upgrade lighting, replace key HVAC equipment. Improve efficiency. |
| Upper Dublin Public Library | Upper Dublin Township | Montgomery | $750,000.00 | Replace windows, upgrade lighting, replace key HVAC equipment. Improve efficiency. |
| Carnegie Lib of Pitt / Mt. Washington branch | Pittsburgh City | Allegheny | $750,000.00 | Renovate for ADA, including elevator and restrooms; add 2300 sf over 2 floors incl. meeting space; improvements to all systems and roof. |
| York County Libraries / Martin Library | York County | York | $233,834.20 | Reconstruct public restrooms for safety reasons. |
| Bradford Area Public Library | Bradford CIty | McKean | $45,440.00 | Renovate two public restrooms into three, replace all fixtures, meet ADA. |
| Mary S. Biesecker Public Library | Somerset Borough | Somerset | $222,394.76 | Renovate two public restrooms into three, replace all fixtures, meet ADA. |
| Lehighton Area Memorial Library | Lehighton Borough | Carbon | $169,699.00 | Construct 1433 sf addition for youth services, community room, 2 ADA restrooms; reconfigure spaces. |
| Heritage Public Library | McDonald Borough | Washington | $11,916.00 | Replace HVAC; repair sidewalk and railing; replace gutters; alter side entrance for ADA. |
| Reading PL: Northwest Branch | Reading City | Berks | $77,500.00 | Replace 39-year old HVAC with new system. |
| Wissahickon Valley Public Library | Ambler Borough | Montgomery | $750,000.00 | Renovate to be handicap-accessible; renovate to add 2458 sf including meeting spaces, restrooms, lobby; efficiency improvements with HVAC, windows, lighting upgrades. |
| Middletown Free Library | Middletown Township | Delaware | $750,000.00 | Renovate and relocate to a former school building, increasing usable space from 6076 to 16670 sf. Library will be accessible, efficient. |
| Evans City Public Library | Evans City Borough | Butler | $27,256.50 | Repair and upgrade outdoor lighting to LED; repoint 25% of exterior bricks; repair windows. |
| Spalding Memorial Library | Athens Borough | Bradford | $99,933.00 | Replace 29 windows, repair front steps, railings, columns, slate tiles. Historic building. |
| Yeadon Public Library | Yeadon Borough | Delaware | $61,770.00 | Install efficient HVAC; install efficient windows; install efficient lighting; convert restrooms to ADA compliance. |
| Rachel Kohl Library | Concord Township | Delaware | $85,000.00 | Replace HVAC system and add natural gas service. |
| Apollo Memorial Library | Apollo Borough | Armstrong | $23,100.00 | Replace flat rubber roof; upgrade lights to LED and new panel; repaint library interior. |
| Marple Library | Marple Township | Delaware | $180,723.00 | Renovate five 1977 restrooms for ADA/efficiency; replace 2 sets of automatic doors. |
| Bucks County Free Library / Doylestown branch | Bucks County | Bucks | $443,460.00 | Replace metal roof. |
| Osterhout Free Library | Wilkes-Barre City | Luzerne | $120,000.00 | Upgrade roof, windows, flooring to improve facility & enhance efficiency. |
| Zelienople Area Public Library | Zelienople Borough | Butler | $6,500.00 | Upgrade carpeting on lower level: children’s & children’s librarian office, hall, staff breakroom, storage room. |
| Lebanon Community Library | Lebanon City | Lebanon | $22,902.00 | Replace stained and worn 11-year old carpeting. |
| $6,851,597.46 | Total Amount Funded | |||