Forward Twp. assists Evans City Library with repairs
FORWARD TWP — The Evans City Public Library will be raising a new roof this spring thanks to a neighborly donation from Forward Township.
“We’ve needed a new roof for several years: it’s been leaking in various places,” board President Maria Barron said. “It’s a flat roof, I guess, which makes it more complicated, and to replace it was going to be between $30,000 and $40,000. We did apply for a grant last year from the state, but we didn’t get it.”
The grant, Barron said, could not be used for repairs on the building, as it also houses borough’s municipal center, police department and historical society.
“We knew we weren’t going to be eligible to have the whole roof replaced by a grant,” she said, “so Forward Township coming forward with that extra federal money was, you know, like a lifesaver.”
At its November 2022 meeting, Forward Township’s supervisors voted unanimously to donate from its American Rescue Plan Act grant fund and help the library get the repairs it needed.
“We serve the Forward population — we’re their library — so all the constituents of Forward can come and use all of our services and our programs,” Barron said. “And they decided to donate $30,000 of that federal money to the library for a new roof.”
With the township’s help, the library has awarded a contract for the repairs, Barron said, and they are scheduled to begin soon.
“They said it will probably only take a week or two,” Barron said.
And the repairs will in no way affect the library’s day-to-day operation, according to Barron.
“We’re really grateful that Forward Township made that donation to us with that federal money,” Barron said.
The library plans to send a representative to Forward Township’s supervisors meeting Tuesday to thank them personally.
“It’s super-exciting, and we’ve needed it for a while, so it’s going to be really great,” Barron said.
The new roof, Barron said, would help guarantee the continued operation of the library’s many programs and services for both communities.
“Some stuff that happens all the time: we have story hour for small children, like 3- to 5-year-olds, that happens every Tuesday and Wednesday,” Barron said. “Then we have a book club that meets on the first Wednesday of the month.”
The library also hosts a variety of community events each month.
“The closest one coming up is on Friday, April 21: We’re having a wine and art show, and we’re featuring local artists Rita Schoeffel and Chris Reifenstein,” Barron said. “Your ticket covers wine and beer, and there’s hors d’oeuvres and desserts, and you can walk around the library and their art will be available for purchase.”
The Art and Wine Fundraiser Night will be followed by a game night on April 22, a used book sale April 29 and May 1, and the sixth annual 5K and Fun Run on May 20.
“Also, we’re doing something called ‘crosswalk paints,’” Barron said. “Because of the way Evans City is, we don’t really have sides of buildings to paint murals on, so we were going to paint the crosswalks — the ones that don’t cross over (Route) 68.”
In addition to its wealth of programs and events, the library also is, of course, a library.
“Obviously we have print materials: we have books and magazines and newspapers,” Barron said. “We also have audio books and movies, we have board games that you can take out, we have puzzles, we have Legos.”
Barron said patrons can also take advantage of various services on-site.
“You can come to library to get things printed, to get things faxed,” Barron said. “We can help people set up an email address, or set up their iPhone or Android phone if they’re older and need some help with that kind of stuff. We offer technology help.”
Patrons also will soon be able to borrow laptops from the library, according to Barron, and it offers a selection of mobile hot spots for the community.
“So, if you’re going to your hunting cabin or on a road trip with the kids, you can rent out a mobile hot spot,” Barron said.
And the library is putting together a larger “library of things.”
“That might be in the pipeline, we’ve talked about it,” Barron said. “A lot of libraries have started a ‘library of things,’ where it’s something you might not normally have — like a nail gun or a carpet cleaner or a stud finder — and that you could come down and take those things out from the library.”
The Evans City Public Library is open Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information about their programs, services and events, visit their website at evanscitylibrary.org.
“We have a lot of great stuff going on at the library,” she said.
