Elizabeth Fitzgerald, executive director of the Abington Township Public Library, issued a statement today regarding the recent $749,750 award “to plan and design a library facility that is sustainable, accessible, efficient and tailored to the needs of the community.”
The funds are part of an $11 million investment in 27 libraries across 15 counties on behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Office of Commonwealth Libraries (OCL). The Jenkintown Library was awarded $81,900 “to develop a master plan addressing accessibility, safety, energy efficiency, maintenance, renovation, and potential expansion.”
According to the statement, the current building was once a department store and was built nearly 100 years ago.
“The cost of maintaining this aging structure is substantial and has caused countless interruptions in services and building closures,” the statement says. “Needless to say, staff and patrons alike have tested the limits of our current library space. Abington Township needs a new, 21st century library building that can accommodate the needs of our community for generations to come.”
The statement notes that the planning process will include surveys, focus groups, town halls, and one-on-one conversations.
Fitzgerald’s full statement:
Dear friends,
Abington Township and Abington Township Public Library are thrilled to share that we are recipients of a Keystone Grant for Public Library Facilities. We will be receiving nearly $750,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Office of Commonwealth Libraries, which will be matched by funds from the library’s Board of Trustees, to plan and design a new main library facility that is sustainable, accessible, efficient, and tailored to the needs of our community. This is the first step towards building a new library and starts us on a productive, challenging, and thrilling journey to create a main library building that will meet Abington’s needs for the coming decades.
Our current main library, the Abington Free Library, is in a building that was once a department store and was built nearly 100 years ago. The cost of maintaining this aging structure is substantial and has caused countless interruptions in services and building closures.
While our building is reaching the end of its usable life, the library is being used more than ever! In 2025, our libraries welcomed almost 333,000 people who used our public computers and wireless internet 37,000 times. Our libraries have more than 214,000 items in our collections—books, audiobooks, DVDs, and our Library of Things, as well as eBooks, eAudiobooks, and videos—that were borrowed 475,000 times. Library patrons also came to the library to attend the more than 800 programs we offered in 2025, which saw nearly 24,000 people participate.
Needless to say, staff and patrons alike have tested the limits of our current library space. Abington Township needs a new, 21st century library building that can accommodate the needs of our community for generations to come. We look forward to building our library of the future together, engaging our community throughout the process with surveys, focus groups, town halls, and one-on-one conversations. We will do our best to communicate updates on the project frequently and openly.
Thank you to the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Office of Commonwealth Libraries, the Abington Township Board of Commissioners, the Board of Trustees of the Abington Township Public Library, and Abington Township administration for your support.
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