History
The Library itself began as a result of the efforts of one civic organization: The Women's Club of McKeesport. Newly formed in late 1898, the Club's first goal was to create a library for McKeesport. Knowing of his interest and support of other library projects, Club Secretary, Mrs. Fred Crabtree wrote to Andrew Carnegie asking for his help. After many pleas over the next year, he responded with a gift of $50,000 to build the building. His gift was made with the understanding that the City of McKeesport would furnish a proper site for the building and provide for its maintenance and operation. A far corner of the Evans Estate, bounded by what are now known as Carnegie, Library and Union Avenue was chosen as the location. On February 11, 1900, an ordinance was passed by the Council of the City of McKeesport accepting Mr. Carnegie's donation and appropriating $3,000 annually for the operation of the library. See more at our website.
Specialties
We are a public library offering printed and online materials for borrowing, computers and wifi for free public use, printing and faxing services, family and children's programs (including story hours), and a used book store. In addition to our main McKeesport location, which features a large children's room, we have branches in Duquesne and White Oak. We are part of the Allegheny County Library Association, so patrons can request materials from any county library to be picked up here at no charge. Materials can be returned to any library in the county, and the library system will transport them to their home libraries. Over 83,000 items circulated last year from our locations, and patrons logged over 52,000 hours on our computers during the year.