Penn Hills Library eyeing switch to nonprofit status

The Penn Hills Library might become its own organization, the municipality announced Jan. 25.

The library, currently a municipal department, has worked with the Allegheny County Library Association since March to explore the option of becoming a nonprofit.

The move, said Kim Dawson, the Library Advisory Board’s president, could mean additional funding options through foundations.

Meryl Thomas, president of the Library Foundation, said the foundation is “very supportive” of the initiative but deferred further comments to Dawson.

It’s not final yet, but the move could mean Penn Hills Library becoming a nonprofit member of ACLA, which is a consortium of 46 libraries throughout the county. The association is funded, in part, by the Regional Asset District, state and county government and foundations such as the Jack Buncher Foundation, the Hillman Foundation and others.

Municipal Manager Scott Andrejchak said the move is not imminent — right now is a time for the residents to get acquainted with the idea, ask questions and provide feedback.

“The reason it’s being done in this way is to provide time for residents to understand,” Andrejchak said. “This is not coming up in council’s February agenda. It’s whenever council wants to entertain it. And so this depends heavily on public input.”

The municipality’s announcement included a Q&A section that attempted to answer questions that might pop up throughout the process.

One of the questions asks if this is “just a backdoor plan designed to cut or close the library.”

The answer given is no.

“We believe the library is a true asset to Penn Hills and the eastern suburbs. Changing to a nonprofit model could lead to foundation grants which, in turn, could help the municipality’s budget. Ultimately, the municipality of Penn Hills allots funding to the library annually, whether it’s a nonprofit or a department of government,” the announcement reads.

Andrejchak reiterated this.

“No matter what happens, we are a partner with them,” Andrejchak said of the library.

The municipality allocated $658,915 to the library in its 2021 budget, a slight increase over recent years. The majority of that funding goes toward paying salaries and wages to its nine employees. Andrejchak said there are additional employees not seen in the municipal budget because they are employed by RAD.

Andrejchak said savings, if any, to the municipality likely would be marginal but dependent on a new employment cost under a different model.

Dawson said the library is developing a strategic plan which will spell out in more detail how the library will employ its workforce.

“I can’t say if the number of employees will decrease or increase. It’s difficult to say right now,” she said.

She said the current crew is down to eight employees, a symptom of the pandemic – which resulted in the library’s closure in March. The library has yet to reopen to its regular hours. It is open four days a week and offering curbside pickup. Only two employees – the library director and her assistant – are working full time.

Mayor Pauline Calabrese said there is “no time crunch.”

“We don’t want to move on this until we know where the public stands,” she said. “We represent the people, so it’s whatever the people want. … We don’t want to change anything or thrust anything on the public. If the public wants this model, we’ll move in that direction. If not, then we won’t move.”

She encouraged people to read the Q&A and submit feedback.

To read the municipality’s entire announcement and Q&A , visit pennhills.org.

The municipality also created an email address — libraryfeedback@pennhills.org — for residents to provide feedback.