Turning

a quiet crisis
into a MODEL
OF success
urning T
a quiet crisis
The transformation of Allegheny County’s

into a
library system through regional cooperation

MODEL OF success
The transformation of Allegheny County’s
library system through regional cooperation

A ll T o g e th e r n o w
Until ACLA,   too many of our county’s libraries were failing alone.
  Now they’re succeeding together.
Today, residents can
use a library card from
their community library
to take out a book at
any other library in the
county. ACLA consists of
45 independent libraries
that work together, share
resources and cooperate
to better serve the needs
of county residents.
“Within the boundaries of the book-shelved walls of Allegheny County’s libraries, a quiet crisis is
unfolding. Funding is being slashed as the price of new materials skyrockets; hours are being cut
just when communities need a library’s resources the most; and too many people have to travel
too far to reach the information they need.”
“A Quiet Crisis”, 1991
When the steel mills
died in McKeesport,
the library there started
dying, too. It stopped
By the 1990s, too many of Allegheny County’s libraries seemed to be headed buying books, turned
toward their final chapter. down the heat, cut back
Up and down the county’s rivers were former manufacturing towns whose tax hours, even unscrewed
base had collapsed. As budgets declined, libraries stopped buying books. Some light bulbs. But the
librarians wore boots and coats at their desks in winter. Plastic sheeting cov- people of McKeesport
ered windows. Roofs leaked.
wouldn’t let their library
Yet amid the falling plaster, a few visionaries saw opportunity — people like die. Though money was
Frank Lucchino, then county controller. He believed Allegheny County’s future tight for them, residents
depended on municipalities finding ways to work together — cooperating
sent dollar bills in
instead of competing. And in libraries, Lucchino believed he’d found the perfect
test case. envelopes. “The library,”
they wrote, “is the heart
In a slim volume titled “A Quiet Crisis,” Lucchino along with staff members
of our community. If
Beverly Blankowski and Jack Chielli told the story of libraries quietly fading
away — in the very communities where out-of-work residents could least afford to the library shuts its
buy books. doors, that’s the end.”
Today, the library shines
The report’s simple, direct language opened eyes. Soon, Lucchino had brought
Allegheny County’s community librarians together — north, south, east and as a busy hub of the
west — for the first time in history. He asked them: “What if all of you could McKeesport community.
work together, share resources, and form one county-wide network, but retain
your independence?” Then he offered them an incentive. “Cooperate, and jointly
you could have access to $1 million.”
From this first meeting grew the organization that became the Allegheny
County Library Association (ACLA). Today, the falling plaster at our libraries
is repaired. The heat stays on in winter. More locations serve more patrons
than ever. And dozens of new programs stretch the definition of what a library
can be.
More than a decade after ACLA was founded, people talk about county-wide
cooperation as if it’s science fiction. ACLA is living proof the concept works.
 “ACLA was formed at the intersection of crisis and opportunity.”
M. Clare Zales
Deputy Secretary of Education
and Commissioner for Libraries

e
mpowering acc e s s
Until ACLA,  finding a book could mean trips
 to dozens of card catalogs.
In 1992, many libraries  Now it means a single trip to the internet.
still communicated
by drafting letters on
As she sat down to read the report “A Quiet Crisis,” Doreen Boyce, president of
manual typewriters. the Buhl Foundation at the time, saw “an intersection of crisis and opportunity.”
But when the county
The Buhl Foundation had just helped local college libraries to computerize.
provided a grant for fax
Ancient catalogs of index cards gave way to memory cards, accessed from com-
machines, librarians puter terminals. And not surprisingly, wherever the Buhl Foundation funded
quickly saw the value these improvements, more and more students began using the library.
of being connected.
Boyce wondered how to bring these benefits to the general public — not just
Suddenly, they could college students. “A Quiet Crisis” pointed the way. Soon, Boyce and Lucchino
quickly communicate had envisioned something no library could do alone — a county-wide computer
requests for books, and network where residents could search an electronic card catalog listing the
materials of every library in the county.
even fax copies of
magazine articles. It This simple plan faced one enormous complication — an $11 million start-up
was the first tangible price tag. But Doreen Boyce had an idea: To fund a county-wide library com-
puter system, why not a county-wide fundraising effort?
demonstration of the
power of the concept Over lunch, Boyce brought together the city’s leading foundations. By the time
of county-wide dessert arrived, she had commitments for more than half the funding. It fell to
Lucchino, once again, to express the urgency to the county librarians in black
cooperation.
and white. “Computerization is coming,” he told them. “This is a once in a life-
time opportunity to computerize at zero cost to local communities. The train is
leaving the station. You’d better get on it.”

Librarians got on board. Today, the network that grew out of this effort serves
thousands of requests from residents daily. And total library circulation has
increased by 28% since 2001.

By cooperating, the libraries of Allegheny County did something none of them

could have done alone. They created one of the first — and largest — computerized
library consortia in the nation.

Today, people connect with the library like never before. Easy
online searching helps drive more visits to the library, because
patrons can see the resources at every library in the system.

“Before RAD funding, too many librarians had to be focused on how to pay the light bill, not on
delivering more service.”
Jo Ellen Kenney
Director, Carnegie Library of McKeesport
Former President, ACLA
“The Allegheny County Library
Association continues to be a
great resource and asset for
our residents. From Knowledge
Connections to its Mobile
Library Service, ACLA strives
to serve all segments of our
community in every corner of

C
the County. I’m proud of all
that ACLA has accomplished,

reating sustainable funding and I look forward to its

continued presence in our
neighborhoods.”

Until ACLA,  many librarians worried about how to pay Dan Onorato

 the electric bill. Now they’re plugged into a

Allegheny County
Chief Executive
 reliable source of funding.
“I am a strong believer in our
libraries and the variety of
At about the time ACLA was being born, so was a concept called RAD.
services they offer to resi-
dents of all ages, ranging
A radically new idea in government funding, RAD (Regional Asset District)
from Internet classes and tax
grew out of the growing realization that community assets like museums, zoos
programs to SAT assistance.
and sports stadiums were regional in scope — and could not be supported solely
The state must do everything
by taxing residents of the community where their bricks and mortar happened possible to sustain our local
to be. libraries not only for these
reasons, but also because
To the member libraries of ACLA, this fact was clear: “If anyone is a regional
they are certainly an extension
asset, we are. After all, libraries are open to everyone. Libraries may be the of our education system,
quintessential regional asset.” Yet, in comparison to similar metro areas, and benefit our children by
libraries in Allegheny County ranked last in per capita expenditures. supplementing what they
learn during school.”
Having learned the lessons of “A Quiet Crisis,” ACLA’s librarians were quiet
no more. They lobbied legislators. Rallied patrons in Pittsburgh’s Market Sean Logan
Pennsylvania State Senator
Square. Circulated petitions. And argued — loudly — that their library system
was a county-wide asset that deserved RAD funding, too.
“Libraries are one of the
ACLA was officially designated a RAD asset. And the steady flow of funding fundamental building blocks of
from RAD changed everything. a strong community. Literacy
and the love of reading are
Before RAD funding, many librarians had to focus on how to pay the bills. vital lessons for growing
RAD allowed them to focus on what librarians do best: Ensuring that minds. ACLA and its affiliated
residents had access to the information and resources they needed, put- libraries provide invaluable
The Quiet Crisis in ting programs in place that helped the community learn and prosper, and services to the communities
library funding forced making services available to everyone — even the most disadvantaged. they serve, especially to
too many librarians children and seniors. The
As David Donahoe of RAD put it, “ACLA looked at treating library service
to focus on survival. wide variety of reading mate-
RAD funding enabled
regionally not only to make it better for each individual library, but for each
rial, computer access and
ACLA’s libraries to individual.”
programming available free
once again focus on
With RAD in place, ACLA was about to show how much more a library system of charge at the library are an
better serving their
asset to Allegheny County
communities. could really be.
and its residents.”
John Pippy
Pennsylvania State Senator
ACLA has been nationally
“I met these strangers one year ago. Now I have all these friends.”
recognized as a Center
PALS Book Club Member
of Excellence for Life-
long Learning by the
Americans for Libraries

S
Council. In addition to
the ACLA/Highmark
PALS book clubs, erving the unserved
ACLA offers many other
programs for seniors,
Until ACLA,   libraries often struggled simply to stay alive.
supported by a dedi-
Now they’re all finding new ways to reach
cated Older Adult Forum
the communities they serve.
composed of library
professionals who are in-
Along with bringing more people to the library, ACLA finds more ways to bring
terested in building Older
the library to the people who need it most.
Adult programming and
services at their libraries. Through Mobile Library Services, ACLA drives bookmobiles right into our com-
munities. ACLA has extended this service across the entire county, as well as
The transformational boosted service to under-served segments of the community such as pre-schools
power of libraries and senior centers.

“Knowledge isn’t filling
a page. It’s lighting a fire.
The library lit a fire for
me,” says disc jockey
Johnny Hartwell. The
library helped Johnny get
started on a career as a
DJ—at a time when he
was struggling to get a
job and raise his young
family. Today, the library
is opening up new worlds
for Johnny’s son with
autism. Audio books
have helped expand his
son’s vocabulary, and
also made him a lover
of—what else for the son
of a DJ?—old-time radio.
Seniors are one under-served audience that ACLA works hard to make better
served. For example, to help seniors socialize and stay healthy, Highmark’s
Randy Detweiler started a seniors book club called PALS. Seniors loved it. But
as the program grew, so did the sheer mechanics of transporting books between
clubs. Now that ACLA has partnered with Highmark, there are over 20 PALS
clubs with more on the way. “We couldn’t have made this program as big by our-
selves,” explains Randy. “Partnering made the program bigger, faster and easier.
Plus it’s just more fun!” The AARP recently recognized the program with an
Excellence Award.
And, on the other side of the age spectrum, over 28,000 children participate in
summer reading programs and activities for kids.
A collection of books inside four walls is one thing. But in ACLA’s view, a library
should break down the walls — and be a living, breathing part of its community.
ACLA keeps finding new ways
to bring the power of books
and learning to everyone. Recently,
ACLA helped establish after-school
study centers at 13 homeless shelters.

R
e-envisioning
Until ACLA,
ACLA’s “Third Place” envisions
what libraries could become
in the future—a comfortable,
gathering place beyond work
and home.
“World-class community libraries must think strategically, creating benchmarks and eval-
A Sampling of ACLA
uating best practices to build a best-in-class library system. That kind of excellence is
what ACLA fosters.” Partnerships
Michael Kumer
Executive Director, Duquesne University’s Nonprofit Leadership Institute The “One Book, One
Community” program
brings our region
th e l i b r a r y
together — working with
partners such as Barnes &
Noble, Joseph Beth
l ibraries were simply a place for books. Booksellers, Highmark,
Now they’re becoming a “third place” and Carlow University.
beyond work and home.
Operas and symphonies
come alive for families
Through county-wide cooperation, ACLA transformed our community’s
libraries. Now ACLA is helping our libraries transform the community. who might never afford
them — through tie-ins with
Can reading a single book change a whole region? That’s the idea behind
the Pittsburgh Opera and
“One Book, One Community,” a program that encourages everyone in
our region to read and discuss a single novel. Offered yearly, “One Book” Pittsburgh Symphony.
even reaches homeless children and parents, through a partnership with
Seniors become lifelong
the Homeless Children’s Education Fund.
learners with the help of
Reaching out to partner with community groups is one of the things ACLA Faculty — librarians
ACLA does best — and often, as the sampling at right shows. Programs
who share their expertise
like these may not fit how people think about libraries. But that’s just
the point. ACLA is re-defining what a community library is. in partnership with the
University of Pittsburgh’s
Could the library be a place where you enjoy coffee and croissants with
Osher Lifelong Learning
your prose? It could be — in ACLA’s vision of a library of the future
called “Third Place” (the place beyond work and home). Institute.
Visionary concepts like “Third Place” will require visionary librarians Community programs
and boards of directors to lead them. To meet this challenge, ACLA, help residents stay
together with the Nonprofit Leadership Institute, has created a lead-
healthy — through
ership development program. Librarians and their Boards learn about
attracting volunteers, strategic planning — even how to recruit new classes from Working
board members to mirror the diversity of their community. The program Hearts, LifeSpan, and the
has become a model that’s studied nationwide. University of Pittsburgh’s
Where will the future lead us? ACLA has accomplished much in its short Institute on Aging.
history, yet there are still many challenges to address. But our county’s Fathers become
libraries will not face these challenges alone. Because of ACLA, they
better dads — through
will solve them by working together — using the same model of county-
wide cooperation that created our organization. And that transformed a programming offered
quiet crisis into a model of success. by the National
Fatherhood Initiative.
 45  Libraries O n e Sy s t e m
ACLA Libraries
Andrew Bayne Memorial Library
Andrew Carnegie Free Library
Avalon Public Library
Baldwin Borough Public Library
Bethel Park Public Library
Braddock Carnegie Library
Brentwood Library
Bridgeville Public Library
C.C. Mellor Memorial Library
Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale
Carnegie Library of Homestead
This brochure has Carnegie Library of McKeesport
been made possible Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
by a generous grant Clairton Public Library
from the Buncher Community Library of Allegheny Valley
Family Foundation. Community Library of Castle Shannon
Coraopolis Memorial Library
Crafton Public Library
Dormont Public Library
F.O.R. Sto-Rox Library
Green Tree Public Library
Hampton Community Library
Jefferson Hills Public Library
Lauri Ann West Memorial Library
Monroeville Public Library
Allegheny County
Library Association
22 Wabash Street, Suite 203
Pittsburgh, PA 15220
412.921.1123
412.921.0734 (fax)
www.aclalibraries.org
Moon Township Public Library
Mt. Lebanon Public Library
North Versailles Public Library
Northern Tier Regional Library
Northland Public Library
Oakmont Carnegie Library
Pleasant Hills Public Library
Plum Borough Community Library
Robinson Township Library
Scott Township Public Library
Sewickley Public Library
Shaler North Hills Library
South Fayette Township Library
South Park Township Library
Springdale Free Public Library
Upper St. Clair Township Library
Western Allegheny Community Library
Whitehall Public Library
Wilkinsburg Public Library
William E. Anderson Library of Penn Hills
Other Library Service Outlets
ACLA Mobile Library Services