New Design ~ Front View
The Adamstown Area Library Board of Directors are pleased to announce that they approved a redesign for their new library plan. A rendering of the new design has been completed as library officials are embarking on the final leg of their “Room to Grow” capital campaign.
Over $960,000 has been raised during the capital campaign—the goal is $1,500,000. The Library Board is optimistic that the Adamstown Area Library’s community will help them get close to their goal so that construction can begin soon. The AAL serves over 30,000 residents in five municipalities: Adamstown Borough, Brecknock Township, Denver Borough, East Cocalico Township and West Cocalico Township.
A Town Meeting has been scheduled for Monday, November 12th from
6:30 – 7:30 pm at the library. Coffee and dessert will be served.
New Design ~ Parking Lot View
The new design represents a collaboration between Heck Construction and Olsen Design Architects who evaluated the existing VFW multi-story building that was purchased by the library in 2016. Upon assessing the building code, they discovered that the upper three floors of the building were deemed ‘unusable’—even for storage—without the installation of fire prevention measures, a costly stairwell and substantial structural steel. Despite this discouraging news, the ‘footprint’ of the older structure will be used while the library’s new front design will fit into the neighborhood. The new design of the building will better accommodate the circulation desk, offices and the children’s area.
According to Marjorie Hyrb, Library Board President, “Our work with the construction firm and the architect was extremely valuable in making this determination. The goal for the new library has always been to provide more space, better access and meetings rooms that will best serve the public at the most reasonable cost. We believe that these new plans will achieve these goals!”
Adamstown Area Library ~ Brief History
The Adamstown Area Library was founded in the mid-1940s by the Adamstown Woman’s Club. The initial collection was approximately 100 books. In 1954, the library moved into 400 square feet of space in the basement of the Adamstown YMCA. In 1988, it became evident to the Woman’s Club that growth in the area and increased library usage warranted hiring their first library staff person. In February 1990, the Adamstown Woman’s Club founded the Friends of the Adamstown Library in an effort to raise funds for the library. Also in the early 1990s, the Lancaster County Library System established geographical areas to be served by specific library locations.
This became the basis for the allocation of state, county and municipal funds for the library. A further change occurred in 1995 as Adamstown became a member library of the Library System of Lancaster County. It was at that time the library established a Board of Trustees to act in a fiduciary capacity and to ensure ownership of the library was in the hands of the Board of Trustees and the local boroughs and municipalities it served. In 1997, the library applied and was granted 501(c)(3) status as a non-profit organization. In 1998, the library moved from the YMCA location to its present location at 3000 North Reading Road. The Adamstown Borough leases the space to the library for one dollar
Complete History of the Adamstown Area Library
# # #