Donora Public Library prepares for growth
DONORA – Donora Public Library is rebranding itself as it prepares to enlarge its building to house the Donora Smog Museum.
The library has introduced a new logo and decided to launch a new website to help promote the place as the center of the community, library director Mark Boyer said.
“Rebranding will help better position us for the future,” Boyer said.
Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
The Donora Public Library board is planning an expansion to the building to add space to house the Donora Smog Museum.
The changes come at a time when the library also is planning to build an addition to the building at 510 Meldon Ave. to create space to relocate the local historical society’s archives and museum.
The society’s Donora Smog Museum tells the story of the nation’s worst air pollution disaster, which killed more than 20 people and became the impetus for the nation’s first clean-air law. It attracts visitors from across the globe and will be available for researchers with regular hours at the library.
Boyer said the library has raised about $500,000 for the $1.4 million project and plans to use that as matching money in an application for a state grant.
Boyer grew up in Donora and returned to his hometown after retiring from Hanover County in North Carolina, where he worked in public information. He’s been library director for about a year.
“It’s my dream job that I never dreamed of,” he said.
The logo is a representation of the way the Monongahela River follows a horseshoe curve around Donora in an image that also uses the letter D.
The new Donora Public Library logo is a representation of the way the Monongahela River follows a horseshoe curve around Donora in an image that also uses the letter D. It was created by Brianna Farrand, a junior studying graphic design at Point Park University in Pittsburgh.
It was created by Brianna Farrand, a junior studying graphic design at Point Park University in Pittsburgh.
Boyer said the library recently purchased 25 new computers as part of its modernization efforts.
A traveling exhibit about cartoonist Herbert Block also is expected to arrive at the library next month. Known as Herblock, his cartoons date to the Great Depression.
Meanwhile, groundbreaking ceremonies are expected to be held later this year for the 9,233-square-foot addition, which also will create meeting space and have an elevator.