Grant closes book on library overcrowding

The library has looked forward to the expansion for years.

STAFF REPORT

MERCER, Pa. — The borough has been awarded a state grant that it will use for doubling the size of the Mercer Area Library.

State Sen. Bob Robbins of Greenville, R-50th, and state Rep. Dick Stevenson of Grove City, R-8th, announced the grant this week.

The $456,760 Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund grant will go toward the building of a 2,867-foot addition and renovation of the current 2,850 square feet the library has in its building on North Pitt Street.

“Unfortunately, the large number of library patrons has resulted in overcrowding of the current building,” Robbins said.

Robbins said the project also will improve accessibility for people with disabilities and will make improvements to the library’s exterior.

“This grant will enable the Mercer Library to complete an essential project which will give it the room to expand its selections and provide a comfortable setting for its patrons,” Stevenson said.

Connie Jewell, library director, said the library hopes groundbreaking will be this spring.

“We’ve been quite crowded for years,” she said. “We’ve been looking forward for a number of years to having more space.”

Jewell said the rest of the money for the expansion is coming from donations.

“We were named in a couple of estates and had a building fund,” she said. The project will cost around $919,000 all together, she added.