HARRISBURG –– Education Secretary Pedro A. Rivera announced Thursday that Bradford Area Public Library is among the award recipients for Keystone Grants for improving physical facilities.

“The role public libraries play in their communities has evolved to meet the needs of those they serve,” Rivera said. “In addition to broadening users’ outlooks through books, computers and other resources, libraries serve as gathering spaces for community discussion, host STEM-aligned makerspaces, and can be innovation incubators, where neighbors can foster and advance new ideas.”

Keystone grants are competitive grants funded through the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund. Grants of up to $750,000 may be used for planning, acquisition, construction and rehabilitation of public libraries, and must be matched dollar-for-dollar. Bradford Area Public Library Director Lacey Love stressed the importance of grants by explaining, “In McKean County, in 2017, 16 percent of public library funding came from state aid, 21 percent from local government and 62 percent from private donations and operating income.

“We applied for the Keystone Grant for Public Library Facilities with the intention of renovating the library’s public restrooms,” Love continued.

“The library building is 27 years old, and the public restrooms have only been updated once in that period; new flooring and painting were completed in 2001,” Love said, regarding the grant’s importance to the library.

In addition to updating the library’s physical appearance, such as paint, flooring and tile; the library also plans to add a gender-neutral family restroom, and ensure that everything complies with current ADA regulations.

“Grants are so important to public libraries, and more specifically rural libraries, because more than two thirds of our budget is based on money we can fundraise or bring in ourselves through fines, copies, etc.,” she said.

Love said that Pennsylvania has fallen to 49th in the nation for local governments funding libraries.

“Grants like the Keystone Grant for Public Library Facilities are more necessary than ever. We’re lucky here in Bradford that we have strong local government support, but many other libraries aren’t so fortunate,” she said.

“The Keystone Grant is dedicated to building and capital improvements, but there are also many grants out there that public libraries receive for programming. Many rural libraries would not be able to hold as many programs as they do without the support of grants,” Love added.

She said maintaining the physical image of the library is important to patrons and assets in poor quality are “a detriment to the facility and the image of the library.”

“Over the years, we have raised money to renovate several other areas of the library, including the meeting rooms, Early Literacy Center, and circulation desk. The restrooms are one of the only public areas that have not received any updates due to the scope and projected cost of the project,” said Love.