In April, Centre County Commissioner Mark Higgins described the books at the Centre Hall Area Branch Library as stacked "from floor to ceiling," and branch manager Kathleen Edwards stood up at the commissioners' meeting to say how excited her staff was about the plan to finally make room. "It's been a long time coming and we definitely need the extra space," Edwards said, as the Centre Daily Times reported.
That building at 109 W. Beryl St. is where the branch's holiday season happens this year. Book bingo, ornament decorating, LEGO afternoons and storytime all take place in the building the commissioner described, which has no dedicated meeting room. Even the branch's holiday gift sale raises money to help change that.
A meeting room that was planned and never built
When the branch opened about 30 years ago, its design was supposed to include a community meeting space. According to the library's "Case For Support" brochure, cited by the Centre Daily Times, that room never came to be.
The brochure explains what that means in a building this size:
"The lack of meeting space becomes a very clear issue during any of the 180+ library-sponsored programs every year. During library programs, the increased number of people and resulting noise in the small space makes studying, working and even browsing for books difficult for other library visitors."
More than 180 programs a year comes to roughly three or four a week, all held in a branch with no meeting room and more than 20,000 books and five public computer stations. According to The Express, the branch serves more than 12,500 residents across the Penns Valley region.
The building's mechanical systems are also part of the plan. The utility room holding its 30-year-old electrical, plumbing and HVAC equipment sits on the second floor. The expansion would move it to the first floor of the existing building, turn existing space into a new study room, and move the main entrance to the addition.
Two $750,000 grants and a $2.4 million plan
The project picked up two large grants in 2026.
- The Keystone Grant, awarded April 3. The Pennsylvania Department of Education's Office of Commonwealth Libraries gave the Centre County Library & Historical Museum, which owns and operates the branch, a $750,000 Keystone Grant. It is a dollar-for-dollar matching grant, so the library has to raise another $750,000 before physical work can start.
- The Hamer Foundation grant, announced in July. The Hamer Foundation awarded a separate $750,000 for the Centre Hall branch expansion. The Express reported that the library called it "essential momentum to push the capital campaign toward completion."
Together the two grants come to $1.5 million toward a planned $2.4 million addition of about 2,500 square feet at the back of the building. The addition would more than double the library to over 5,000 square feet.
The plans in the library's announcements center on the space the branch has been missing:
- A meeting room with a wall divider, for library programs, public events and community gatherings
- Two new areas for children and teens
- Quiet study space, including a study room carved out of the existing building
- More shelving for books, digital resources and other materials
- A family restroom, a nursing room and a baby-changing station
- Upgraded energy-efficient systems, a larger entrance vestibule and a new circulation desk
In April, Denise Sticha, who was then executive director of the Centre County Library & Historical Museum, said she hoped ground would break in fall 2026 and the project would be done by fall 2027. Sticha retired from that post earlier in the year, and Tina Zins took over as executive director in mid-March. By July, The Express identified Sticha as the expansion's project manager. StateCollege.com reported the same fall 2026 start and fall 2027 finish when the state grant was announced.
December on Beryl Street
The branch's holiday calendar runs from Thanksgiving week to just before Christmas. These programs are listed on the Centre Hall branch events calendar and take place at the Beryl Street building.
Saturdays
- November 28: Drop-in Cozy Cat Craft, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- December 5: Holiday Family Book Bingo, a late-morning event with books, cocoa and cookies. The library lists it as an annual event; check the event page for the start time.
- December 12: Drop-In Ornament Decorating, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Thursdays
- December 3, 10 and 17: LEGO Hour, 3 to 4 p.m.
- December 10: Mystery Book Club, 6 to 7 p.m.
Mondays
- November 23, November 30, December 7, December 14 and December 21: Preschool Storytime, 10:30 to 11 a.m.
The ornament table and bingo are drop-in style or open to families, which means a Saturday morning can bring a crowd into a branch with no separate program space. Those are the conditions the Case for Support describes, and they're why the planned meeting room has a divider: a craft or class could run on one side while the rest of the library stays quiet.
At the April meeting, Edwards said the expansion would let the branch "serve the Penns Valley community better with more programs, more books, more services."
When the Centre Daily Times reported on the grant in April, the branch was open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 1 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays; and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. It was closed Sundays. Hours can change around the holidays, so the branch page is the place to confirm before you go.
What a stocking stuffer pays for
The Stocking Stuffer Sale has been running at the branch since November 2 and continues through December 23. The library describes the items as "fun stocking stuffer items perfect for book lovers," and all proceeds go to the expansion project.
The next fundraiser starts collecting supplies in December. All month, the library will be accepting new and used puzzles for a Puzzle Sale in January, and those proceeds go to the expansion too. If you have finished puzzles in a closet, you can drop them off when you come in for bingo or ornaments.
The larger effort is a formal capital campaign run by the Centre County Library & Historical Museum, the Partnership for Penns Valley Library Services and Penns Valley community members. The campaign page offers three ways to take part:
- Donate by check. Make it payable to Centre County Library and Historical Museum, write "Centre Hall Expansion" in the memo line, and mail it to Centre Hall Branch Library, PO Box 492, Centre Hall, PA 16828. You can also drop it off at any branch.
- Donate by card or make a pledge. Both options are linked from the campaign page.
- Join the Capital Campaign Committee. Volunteers can sign up through the same page.
The campaign page also links to a project pamphlet, and The Express reported that architectural renderings are posted there for anyone who wants to see what the addition would look like.
In April, Sticha told the commissioners the remaining match money would come from "a combination of general fundraisers, gifts, the upcoming Centre Gives event and more." The Stocking Stuffer Sale is one of those general fundraisers, and it runs through December 23.
Following projects like this one is part of how Theresa Layton keeps up with Penns Valley. If you're new to Centre Hall, or thinking about the area and wondering what the Beryl Street branch offers, Theresa is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
