Library construction expected this year

BY REGGE EPISALE
Correspondent

For 13 years, Susquehanna County residents and business have worked with the Historical Society & Free Library Association to raise funds for a much needed new library.

Thomas Kurosky, Board President, Edgar Warriner, New Library Chair Person, and Susan Stone, Administrator, are happy to announce that 2016 is the year the new library will become a reality.

Bids for the project will go out in February with a construction start date of early spring. The estimated completion date is December 2016 – January 2017.

The new building will expand library space from a current 6,250 square feet to approximately 20,000 square feet and expand parking from 6 to 8 spaces to 65 to 70 spaces.

It will include a community room with a kitchenette that can accommodate up to 100 people; a children’s room furnished with shelves, tables and chairs designed for children and toddlers; a young adult area; a technical area complete with computers; and an adult area designed for quiet reading and study.

The current building on Monument Street in Montrose will house an expanded Susquehanna County Historical Society. With the additional space, the Historical Society will be able to display museum pieces that are currently being kept in storage and expand the genealogy department to make it more accessible.

The new library facility will also provide room for the administration of the six major programs the library is responsible for: The Historical Society; library branches in Montrose, Forest City, Hallstead, and Susquehanna; and the Outreach program which includes Books by Mail and the Book Mobile which serves all six school districts in the county, 16 to 17 daycare facilities, the county correctional facility, senior citizen centers and nursing homes, and various deposit stations.

The Susquehanna Historical Society & Free Library Association was founded in 1907 and in the 1920s had the first verified Book Mobile in Pennsylvania. At that time approximately 3 percent of the county residents had library cards.

Today, the Association serves a population of over 42,000 residents spread over 823 miles, with 40 percent of the population holding library cards.
Library shelves are overloaded and for every new book acquired an older publication has to be removed to make room. The Montrose facility is a
supplemental resource for other county libraries, offering expanded reference tools and other necessary items. The new library will make it possible to expand their title list and better serve all areas of Susquehanna County.

Since 2009, state funding for the operation of the library system has been cut. Fund raisers like the annual Blueberry Festival and Pottery Sale, plus many other community events, are utilized to raise the additional revenue needed to continue operations. Each of the four libraries cut hours to best fill the needs of local residents. The Susquehanna Branch has just restored library hours to include Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and other branches are hoping expand hours if possible.

The building fund is separate from operation funds. The Board of Trustees has received a specialized loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture World Loan Program to complete the new construction. As this loan needs to be repaid, donations of money and materials are still needed from the county people and businesses.

More fund raising events are being planned and all donations are tax deductible.

To follow events and keep up with building news, residents can follow the progress on the Susquehanna County Library Facebook page.

More information about the Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library Association and how to make donations can be found on the website: www.susqcolibrary.org.

The current library in Montrose has served Susquehanna County for over 100 years. The goal is to build a new facility that can serve Susquehanna County for another 100 years. It’s happening now.