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Millions of dollars will be invested in five Allegheny County public libraries in a first-of-their-kind series of grants.  The Board of the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD) voted recently to grant $3.8 million to five transformative projects, all of which will go to libraries serving communities in the Mon Valley.

“We know today’s libraries go well beyond the bookstacks,” said RAD board chair Daniel J. Griffin. “A modern library is a community center, a senior center, a technology center, a resume center, and much more. These grants will ensure all of Allegheny County’s libraries are equipped to serve everyone.”

RAD is the largest single funder of libraries in Allegheny County, providing nearly $39 million in 2023 alone. The latest grants – from RAD’s Transformative Community Library Fund – will supplement that annual funding. The RAD Board created the fund to support changemaking proposals at libraries that provide essential services and spaces for their communities. 

The libraries that will receive this first round of transformative grants are:

• Braddock Carnegie Library – $1,250,000 toward repair and re-construction of the exterior masonry and vestibule in America’s first Carnegie Library.
• Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale – $800,000 toward a major capital project to make the library fully accessible for the first time.
• Carnegie Library of McKeesport – $750,000 as a part of a phased-in renovation to turn the uppermost floor from storage space to public space for community groups.
• Clairton Public Library – $500,000 to help move the library to new, purpose-built space on the ground floor of the newly-renovated Clairton Inn Apartments.
• Carnegie Library of Homestead – $500,000 toward a major capital project to make the historic library building more accessible and increase programming space.

All five projects have already secured grants from other governmental and foundational sources, and all are expected to see construction underway by the end of 2023. Each project will improve and enhance the spaces that ensure that a local library can be the hub of its community.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be investing in these libraries,” said RAD executive director Rich Hudic. “Library employees work so hard to provide for the people in their communities, and we have been diligent about making sure that RAD funds go to projects that will be truly transformational.”

The grant approvals mark a banner day in a long process for RAD and the Allegheny County Library Association (ACLA). RAD, ACLA and library leaders have been engaged in more than a year of discussions around enhancing the library experience and building capacity to better serve patrons for years to come.

“We hope these grants will continue to motivate and inspire library directors serving patrons that rely on the vital resources inside the four walls of the library,” said RAD program officer Margaret Pike Iddings. “It is our hope that, once completed, we will see these libraries boost the quality of life for their patrons individually and community collectively.”

RAD’s work is not done yet. The Transformative Community Library Fund was initially approved in 2022, with a $5 million initial outlay, to guide four years of investments in Allegheny County’s public libraries. RAD staff and the RAD Board’s library committee will continue to discuss proposals with library leaders for additional projects.  More information is provided below on the five initial grants and available at radworkshere.org/pages/rad-transformative-community-library-fund--

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