Breaking ground on a new library in Baldwin Borough might be a couple years away, but that's not stopping the library's board from getting excited about the project.
"We think this will be good for us and for the community, and that's why we're really trying with this," board President LaVerne Oberle said.
The first step will be to complete a $25,000 feasibility study, which will include visiting other libraries with the architect -- Hayes Design Group Architects of Bridgeville -- and developing a plan for what the library will look like.
"We're long down the road from the time when you see someone digging a hole on Churchview Avenue," Oberle said.
The proposal includes a 10,000-square-foot building with 40 parking spaces. Library officials bought the property on Churchview in April from St. Albert the Great Church.
The library's projected cost is more than $1 million, all of which the board plans to raise without the borough's help. Nearly 10 years ago, a referendum to raise taxes to build a library failed.
The library now occupies three rooms in a building owned by the Baldwin-Whitehall School District.
"Currently, the ability of the library to serve the residents of Baldwin is limited by the facility in which it is located," said library Director Joyce Chiappetta. "By spring, a preliminary design should be the first step in bringing the kind of library to the residents of Baldwin that will enhance the quality of community life."
