Zelienople Public Library employs Amy Kellner left and Sheila Thomas working hard near the end of the day on Wednesday evening. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle 10/5/22

This story was updated at 10:14 a.m. to reflect the fact that in 2020, roughly 65% of Harmony residents were library borrowers. A previous version of this story said that in 2010, roughly 65% of Harmony residents were library borrowers.

HARMONY — The borough of Harmony stopped funding the Zelienople Area Public Library in 2010.

The reason why isn’t clear, but the Great Recession had devastated the global economy not long before that.

Kathy Luek, acting representative on the library’s board, cited this freeze on donations from the borough when asking its council to resume funding Tuesday night.

The library has received consistent funding from Zelienople Borough, Lancaster Township and Jackson Township for many years, she said. But according to records from the 2020 Census, roughly 65% of library borrowers were Harmony Borough residents.

“Hopefully, you’ll be willing to donate to the library,” she told them.

“In 2003, Harmony gave the library $6,000,” she said. “From 2004 to 2014, they gave the library $5,200 each year. Somewhere between 2015 and 2018, that stopped any donation at all. I didn’t get on the board until 2019, and it’s still zero, zero, zero for every year that I’ve been on the board. So we would like you do make amends for that.”

A crack in an exterior window pane at the Harmony Museum Oct. 5, 2022 in Harmony on October. The museum hopes to replace these windows with copies of the original windows. Cary Shaffer/Butler Eagle

Last year Joe Dippold, who serves as a councilor for Harmony Borough, succeeded in raising $300 for the library — by standing in the town square and collecting these funds in a boot.

One council member asked Leuk if money raised at the library’s June fundraiser was substantial. The event, at Steamfitters Event Center in Harmony to a sold-out crowd, gave donors the chance to hear bestselling author James Patterson lead a discussion and answer questions from fans.

Luek said the event raised several thousand dollars for the library. But when the library’s budget runs at $180,000 to $200,000 a year, that support does not cover all the library’s needs by itself.

Leuk noted that another fundraiser, the Casino Cash Blast Night, would be at the Zelienople Area Public Library on Oct. 29.

A crack in an exterior window pane at the Harmony Museum in Harmony on October 5th, 2022. The museum hopes to replace these windows with copies of the original windows. Cary Shaffer/Butler Eagle 10/05/22