Mounts Fundraising Drive
To Renovate and Remodel

For 75 years, the W.B. Konkle Library has been serving the people of Montoursville and the surrounding area well. Their mission is to “enrich the community by providing a friendly environment to learn, discover and enjoy.”

In a bid to continue this mission into the future and to expand upon it, officials at the library are launching a capital campaign with a goal of $325,000 that is called “Time to Refresh.” The campaign is headed by co-chairs Donna Miller and Bob Weaver, with Rex Watson serving as honorary chair.

The Konkle Library is housed in a 4,800 square foot facility using three rooms, main, reading, and children’s room. In 2019 it had 3,387 registered users and 28,294 visits resulting in 38,599 checked-out items, including books, DVDs, etc. It has one full-time employee, eight part-timers, and various volunteers. The library is a member of the Lycoming County Library System.

The “Time to Refresh” capital campaign is seeking funds to meet several goals that include improving accessibility issues, replacing shelving and furniture, lighting replacement, creating smaller gathering and tutoring areas, new computer stations, new vestibule, new office space for the librarian, creating needed storage space, air conditioning unit replacement, and roof replacement. Most of these goals originated in a 2019 study conducted by local architect Anthony Visco. These renovations will give the library an updated and fresh new look. The campaign’s primary goal is to enable the Konkle Library to introduce new social and educational projects and programs.

Those heading up the capital campaign feel strongly about the worth of the fundraising effort.

“For more than 75 years, the Konkle Memorial Library has served the residents of Montoursville and the surrounding areas,” Donna Miller, one of the campaign’s co-chairs, told Webb Weekly. “The children and teens who visited the library back then continue that long-standing tradition today when they visit with THEIR children and grandchildren! The tag line of this Capital Campaign says it all — ‘Time To Refresh.’ Those three words tell our dedicated patrons that we see YOU, we hear YOU, and we will continue to serve YOU in the years to come.”

The other campaign co-chair, Bob Weaver, declared, “My fondest experiences of the Konkle Library are through my children’s adventures. Like so many other children, they loved walking to the library, especially in the summer when they could not use the school library for storytime and to check out FREE books — what a big deal for them. The plans for renovations and remodeling will open the door for many more opportunities for the children and all others in the community. Programs and services will be enhanced.”

Honorary campaign chairman Rex Hilton stated, “To me, the Konkle Library is the cornerstone of our community, which is the reason I am involved. It’s more than just the resources available.”

The Konkle Library is partnering with the First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania to assist with administrative services related to the capital campaign.

If you wish to contribute to the capital campaign, contact the Konkle Library at 570-368-1840 or access the First Community Foundation Partnership website at http://www.fcfpartnership.org.