ELDRED — The Eldred Area Free Library and Historical Society soon will be celebrating two years since it opened its doors in May of 2016.
Since its opening, the library has expanded its book selection holding over 5,000 titles for its 200 library card holding members.
The library also came through with their promises to offer computers for public use and free wifi. They held their first successful book signing this past February with author, F.L. Ruby which was well attended.
Besides the book section, even more impressive is how much the historical artifacts section of the building has grown. Keep in mind that all the books and items in the building are donated. Walking into the back of the library into the Historical Society section of the building is like walking back in time. So many important artifacts that relate to the history of Eldred and surrounding areas such as Duke Center and Rixford can be observed.
In this section you will find such items as a bound book of the Duke Center “Auger” newspaper from 1888-1890, a hotel register from the St. Elmo’s hotel dated from the 1800s, a street light that once hung in Eldred, a large railroad collection, a Little League World series uniform worn by a resident from 1951, yearbooks, photographs, centennial artifacts, and items from the various business that once were a part of these towns.
Charlotte Stoughton, a retired librarian from Otto-Eldred School District, talked about how fortunate she is to have the help of some dedicated volunteers that have all helped to make the library and historical society a success. Along with many local donations of artifacts they have also started to gain support from memorial funds, which Stoughton said they will start using to buy new titles to complete series of books that current members are reading.
A new and exciting challenge has come to the board of the library since they have recently been awarded a grant from the Route 6 and PA Wilds Façade Program. The grant will allow the library to complete much needed building upgrades.
“Our plan is to replace the windows in the front of the building and make brick repairs to make the building more energy efficient,” said Stoughton. The challenge is the $4,500 grant they received is a matching fund grant. Therefore, the library will be looking to raise money to match the funds for repairs.
A large fundraiser is scheduled for June 23. The fundraiser will be held in the parking lot of the Eldred Supermarket and includes a western theme. Food, games and dancing will be on the agenda for this family event that is scheduled from 5 to 10 p.m. Coordinators for this fundraiser are hoping that this event will be something different, fun, clean and memorable for all in attendance.
In honor of National Library week, the library is offering amnesty on all overdue books. Anyone that currently has an overdue book may return the book without fees.
The library will be holding youth and community programs this summer. Information will be coming soon. Events are posted on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/EldredAreaFreeLibraryandHistoricalSociety/ .
The library is located on 181 Main St. in Eldred and current hours are Wednesday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday 4 to 8 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
As a reminder, donations to the Eldred Area Free Library and Historical Society can be made at any time to P.O. Box 166, Eldred, PA.
