​2024 Solar Charging Station

The solar charging station was a project made possible by Warren County Coordination- Five Independent Libraries working together for YOU!  We opted for the kiosk style charging station for Sugar Grove because it added the ability to charge and use laptops in addition to USB charging of phones and tablets.  We also had the perfect spot to place this design.  We encourage community members to take advantage of the new feature for enhanced use of our existing 24/7 outdoor WiFi availability.  It also provides a valuable resource in times of power outages, and should a bigger emergency occur that impacts power availability in one of our communities, we can work with our emergency personnel and municipal leaders to temporarily relocate this device and assist their communication and coordination efforts as well as aid the community.  ​

2024 Landscaping

Volunteers helped to update our landscaping in the front of the building.  Sugar Grove Borough allowed us to use excess gravel from a road project and a volunteer used their bucket tractor to place gravel over landscape cloth.  All plants were reused from our existing landscaping (we had no idea some of these plants were hiding within the ornamental grasses that had taken over!).  We are pleased with the new look and it requires less maintenance in terms of weeding (there is always weeding, but this requires less!).  

2022 Automatic Door Openers, Picnic Tables, Concrete Work

Sugar Grove Free Library was awarded Federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), available through the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Office of Commonwealth Libraries (OCL). The purpose of these funds is to support the long-term work of the community and library recovery in Pennsylvania.
Through the ARP-IMLS Grant, we were able to purchase the equipment and materials required to automate our front entrance doors, build and install two picnic tables in our outdoor greenspace, and concrete work for a pad to site the picnic tables and extend our entry sidewalk where patrons must walk over the grass previously.

2021 LED Lighting Refit and Exterior Secondary Door Replacements

Funds from the Community Foundation of Warren County and the DeFrees Family Memorial Fund allowed us to replace our existing fluorescent lights with adjustable LED fixtures and replace our exterior secondary doors.  The LED lighting has brightened our space and made it easier to access materials and work in the library as well as reducing electricity consumption with a more sustainable lighting source.  The new secondary doors seal well, improving our building envelope and reducing heating costs and energy consumption.

2020 NEW ROOF

During the 2020 Pandemic Shutdown, we were able to replace our leaking shingle roof with a new metal roof.  This project protects our resources and extends the life of our building.