Dec 20, 2023 2 min read

By Brad Hundt

Staff Writer

bhundt@observer-reporter.com

The Washington County Library System is receiving an early Christmas present this year.

It comes from the Washington County commissioners, who agreed last week to pay in advance the $200,000 the county provides the library system annually, and extend a $165,000 loan until state funding arrives.

The commissioners agreed to the advance payments and loan because libraries in the county and around the state have not yet received funding they would routinely get from Harrisburg because of legislative wrangling over scholarship money for students to attend private schools. The stalemate delayed approval of the “code bill” that would release funds for public libraries, as well as community colleges and county mental health services, that had already been approved in the 2023-24 state budget.

As a result of the holdup, administrators at many libraries were nervous that they would have to cut hours, programs or employees after Jan. 1 if the impasse continued. Even though the funds have been approved, there is no indication when the money will arrive, according to Diane Ambrose, interim director of the library system and the director of Washington’s Citizens Library.

“It could take a couple of months,” Ambrose said. “It could take three months. We don’t know.”

The library system oversees 14 libraries throughout Washington County. The $200,000 is the normal allotment the county provides to the system, but it is being paid in January rather than being split into two payments, the first being in March and the second being in August. The $165,000 loan is about 25% of the $660,000 the library system receives from the state, and will be paid back once the state aid arrives.

“This is phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal,” Ambrose said. “We are so grateful.”