More than a century ago , members of the Women ’ s Club of McKeesport banded together with a primary goal : to create a public library for their city .
To achieve their goal , the club ’ s secretary , Odessa Moore Crabtree , wrote to steel magnate Andrew Carnegie in New York , asking for financial assistance . It was widely known that Carnegie — once the richest man in the world – was a proponent of free libraries , and had donated to the formation of public libraries in other cities .
Carnegie responded in kind , offering to contribute $ 50,000 to build the library , on the condition that it would remain “ free to all the people ,” according to Western Pennsylvania History magazine . As part of his gift , Carnegie insisted that the City of McKeesport find a suitable location for the building and dedicate $ 3,000 a year to its maintenance .
To meet Carnegie ’ s requirements , the Women ’ s Club enlisted a few local businessmen to help find a location and drum up support for the project . One of those men , James Evans , who was the president of the National Bank of McKeesport , donated 2.5 acres of land , which was part of his family ’ s 75-acre estate , at the corner of Carnegie and Union avenues .
The project ’ s commission found an architect in William J . East , who had opened his solo architectural practice in 1898 . East designed the imposing structure in the form of a “ T ,” with a two-story tower at the north end of the building . At the top of the curved staircase were two meeting rooms , one of for the Women ’ s Club and the other for the library ’ s board . On the first floor , East included an adult reading room , children ’ s room , lecture room , and a central circulation desk with an intricate dome directly overhead . The construction of the impressive Romanesque sandstone structure was completed a few years later . The Carnegie Library of McKeesport opened its doors on July 15 , 1902 , with 3,000 books and librarian Emily Kuhn at the helm . Today , 114 years later , the library boasts a collection of more than 110,000 books .
The library ’ s newest director , Judith Gaydos , took over in June . She says that the library serves approximately 5,000 patrons , not including its branches in White Oak and Duquesne . And despite the proliferation of technology , McKeesport citizens still find plenty of value in their local library .
“ We are certainly busy ,” she says . “ We still have plenty of people coming in to read and checking out multiple books .”
Not surprisingly , Gaydos says that funding and lack of space are the biggest challenges facing the library ’ s future . The library now has more than 40 computers and an ever-growing collection of books , DVDs and books on CD . Employee workspace is limited , and , because of the building ’ s open floor plan , is anything but private .
“ With the building being 114 years old , of course they never could have predicted how much space we ’ d need ,” she says . “ I mean , who knew about technology back then ?”
The library maintains a host of regular programming . There are monthly story times , Lego and K ’ nex building sessions and pre-kindergarten classes for children . Adults can partake in the library ’ s cooking , knitting and book clubs , computer assistance classes and numerous seminars .
In November , the library introduced “ Aim High ,” a program sponsored by Penn State of Greater Allegheny that encourages teens and tweens to make good choices . This January , the library also will participate in a pilot program through United Way , which will provide free tax preparation services to low-income residents .
Andrew Carnegie provided no endowment beyond his initial $ 50,000 donation , so funding the library ’ s programs and maintaining the building remain an ongoing challenge . Fundraisers are always in motion , says Gaydos . The library is currently in the midst of raising funds to repave its parking lot , and is hoping to reach its goal of $ 50,000 to complete the project . Eventually , the library would like to raise money to repair the “ rickety steps ” that lead up to its third floor , which is currently unusable .
Despite its modern-day challenges , the library has persisted because of its people , adds Gaydos .
“ We have a great staff that works well together , and many conscientious volunteers who are so important and necessary to the success of this library ,” she says . “ We ’ ve been around for 114 years and we ’ re still going strong .” For more information about the Carnegie Library of
McKeesport , visit mckeesportlibrary . org or call 412.672.0625 . n
McKeesport Area | Winter 2016 | icmags . com 9