Upper St. Clair Township

About

Our Mission

The Mission of the Library is to provide for the educational, informational, and recreational needs of the community.

As a local community library, we strive to:

  • provide popular materials of current social and cultural interest for recreational purposes.
  • provide informational resources on topics related to work, school & personal life.
  • be a center for life-long learning, assisting and supporting literacy for all ages, and providing help using library technology.

Our Vision

The USC community will: Use books & materials, Share programs and activities, and Connect children with reading and everyone with a world of information @ the Library

Library Staff

The Library is currently staffed by a Director, nine full-time staff, part-time librarians, library specialists, library assistants, and volunteers.

The Library Board

The Library Board serves as Trustees for the Library Trust which operates in accordance with the Library Trust Agreement. The purpose of this charitable Trust is to accept donations and contributions to benefit the library.

Questions concerning the Trust should be directed to the Township Manager's office.

  • Robert G. Ontolchik, serving through 2022
  • Barbara Zimmt, serving through 2020
  • Joann Hockenberry, serving through 2021

Library History

The Book Department of the Upper St. Clair Women's Club collected $300 and 2,500 books to establish Upper St. Clair's first library in 1957. The club members and their families cleaned and painted three small rooms on the second floor of Mitchell's Corners Shopping Center.

The library was called the Book Nook and it was truly a grass roots volunteer effort: club members catalogued all the books and took books home with them to apply a protective varnish to the covers. Some financial support came from membership fees, donations and an annual garden party hosted by the Women's Club. The bulk of the funding though, was provided by the Friends of the Library – which was also started in 1957. The Friends raised money for the Book Nook by holding card parties, selling calendars door-to-door throughout the Township and holding fundraisers at Little Lake Dinner Theatre.

In 1958, the Book Nook moved into the newly constructed Township building, though it was still a private library.

In July of 1967, the Women's club turned over control of the library to the Township, and the library became a public library, free to all Township residents. On April 1, 1968, the first paid staff members were hired.

The Commissioners allocated funds to renovate the "large front room" of the Township Building for the Library. In October 1968, three Upper St. Clair Boy Scout troops carried all the books from the old quarters to the new Upper St. Clair Township Library.

In 1985, the library officially became a department of the Township Municipal Government.

In March 1987, the Township library moved into the new three-story addition combined with the remodeled "old" Library facility.

Based, in part, on an article in the May 1996 issue of UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY.

Directors:

  • 1970-1986: Catherine Conley
  • 1986-1993: Annette Kovic
  • 1993-2008: Lois Hoop
  • 2008-2020: Helen Palascak
  • 2020-present: Chris Gmiter

More History:


County Cooperation

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ACLA & the Township of Upper St. Clair

The Allegheny County Library Association (ACLA) is a federated library system of 46 public libraries delivering service in more than 70 locations. Member Libraries include the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, which has 19 locations, and 45 other libraries and their branches located outside the City of Pittsburgh throughout Allegheny County. 

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eiNetwork & the Township of Upper St. Clair

The eiNetwork (Electronic Information Network) provides libraries in Allegheny County with cost-effective, high-speed Internet access and specialized electronic databases. It also offers a shared library catalog of over 3.5 million items.

USC is a participating member of the eiNetwork County Library Catalog.

Items may be requested from any library in the county.  Your library card is valid in any library in the county.


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ARAD & the Township of Upper St. Clair

The Allegheny County Regional Assets District supports and finances regional assets in the areas of libraries, parks and recreation, cultural, sports and civic facilities and programs.

The Library, as a Department of the Township of Upper St. Clair Municipal Government, is supported primarily by the Township. Auxiliary funding from ARAD supplies additional resources in the areas of technology, materials, and furnishings.

More Library links:


Library Policies

Library policies ensure that all users receive high quality service and have a positive experience at the library. We expect all staff and visitors to use our facilities in a responsible, appropriate, and courteous manner.

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