The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s (PDE) Office of Commonwealth Libraries is accepting applications from eligible applicants for grants to improve the physical facilities of state-aided public libraries.
Donor Name: Pennsylvania Department of Education
State: Pennsylvania
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 11/25/2025
Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
Keystone Priorities
The project meets one or more of the following priorities of the grant program:
- Energy efficient projects;
- ADA requirements;
- Non-routine maintenance or mechanical system upgrades;
- New building construction or additions, and/or interior renovation/remodeling, which provide additional space and/or demonstrably improve library service to the general public;
- The public library serves an area with a high unemployment rate, low personal income or low property value and meets the eligibility requirements for Equalization Aid by serving the most economically distressed communities in the state;
- The library has not received a Keystone Grant in the last five years;
- The library is located in a geographical area which has previously not received a Keystone Grant; and/or
- The library has demonstrated good library/municipal communication and grant management, including timely reports on past Keystone Grant projects.
Eligible Project Types
- Planning – Master site development plans, feasibility studies, maintenance, management plans, and other plans and documents, including long-range plans for the allocation of grants, useful to municipalities and state agencies in the planning, development, operation, protection and management of their public library facilities and programs.
- Acquisition – The purchase or lease with an option to purchase land or buildings for public library use.
- Development – New construction, improvement, alteration or renovation required for and compatible with the physical development, improvement of land or buildings for public library purposes.
- Rehabilitation – The improvement or restoration, excluding routine maintenance, of existing public library facilities.
Funding Information
- Grants may be requested up to a maximum of $750,000.
- Awarded projects will be expected to begin and complete within the following 18-month grant performance period.
Eligibility Criteria
Grant applications are required to be submitted by a municipality on behalf of the project library. The sponsoring municipality and the board of the state-aided public library should cooperatively develop the application materials.
For more information, visit PDE.
