Atglen Public Library holds about 12,000 titles of popular materials for adults, young adults, and children, including books, movies, and magazines. Our public computing center features two Windows-based PCs with internet access. Bring your mobile device to access free WiFi and print directly from your device. We can help you print, copy, fax, and scan your documents.
Our membership in the Chester County Library System gives you access to over a million titles, and you can pick them all up here in Atglen. Download e-materials from Overdrive or the Libby app any time of day. Access CCLS databases in the library and in your home with your library card. Let us help you find the information you need.
History
There is some evidence of a book-sharing club in Atglen as early as December 1885, formed by Rev. Algernon Marcellus of Penningtonville Presbyterian Church. Dr. CJ Reese was elected president; William Marcellus, secretary; and Mrs. Dr. Sharp, treasurer. There were 26 members, and dues were $1. Contributions of books, periodicals, and funds were solicited. Newspaper clippings refer to the club as a public library, with members donating the materials to the library after they had been shared amongst themselves. The library had 125 volumes in 1888 and 200 in 1890. Perhaps the books were kept at the Church.
In 1906 a petition signed by 60 citizens was read to Borough Council asking that the Council rooms be used as a “reading room for young men” of the area. Ten years later, around 1916, Mary Young (Mrs. Carleton Young) is said to have founded a book-sharing club.
In the winter of 1945 a survey found that 87% of residents were in favor of establishing a library. It was noted that there was a great need for a public library, as a “previous library in Atglen had been dissolved” in the past few years. A representative from the Chester County Library Association suggested establishing a library to unite with the Chester County Library (then in West Chester), which would allow a wider variety of materials and a changing collection of books.
A public meeting was held in April 1945 to discuss the best way to establish a local library. Franklin Spitler, who was principal of the Atglen public school, led the discussion, and it was decided to incorporate the library as a nonprofit and sell stock. Not more than 200 shares were to be sold at $5 each, which would fund the first year.
Atglen Borough Council agreed to locate the new library in the southwest corner of the Borough Hall, free of rent and utility fees. Council appropriated $2500 to the library, accumulated from a $1500 gift left by Tacie Fawkes in 1922. It is not yet known why Miss Fawkes left such a large sum for the formation of a library.
Steps were taken to incorporate The Atglen Public Library, and the Common Pleas Court approved the charter on June 1, 1945. Incorporators were George W. Sener, president; M. Fred Wentz, vice president; Edna Y. Benner, secretary; Franklin C. Spitler and Ralph C. Benner. Additional directors were Mrs. William P. Kenworthy, treasurer; W. Paul Meredith, Mrs. R. R. Hull, Frank Schaub, and Mrs. Harold Wentz. The Library started with $500. It was agreed that the library would be open twelve hours a week as soon as books were obtained.
With the assistance of Nancy Leavitt of the Chester County Library, Miss M. Elizabeth Cowan, a retired school teacher, readied the library space and materials during the summer of 1945, with Frank Schaub building the shelves. The formal opening of the Atglen Public Library was held on Tuesday, November 27, 1945. The hours for the library were 3:00 to 5:00 and 7:00 to 9:00pm on Tuesdays, 7:00 to 9:00pm on Fridays, and 1:00 to 5:00pm on Saturdays.
Two items of sad news hit the Library in 1973: George Sener, the Library’s founding president, passed away, and a report that the Library would be “discontinued” brought the library board to Council. Mrs. Shutsky reported that Chester County Library would help subsidize the Library, and it would continue as Atglen Reading Center, due to not meeting the state standards for a public library.
In 1992, the Library was again threatened with closure, but the community responded with funds and volunteers. Then Borough Council planned to move its offices to the bank building where it now resides. The Library was given until the end of 1993 to find a new home. Arrangements were made for Council to build a new building for the Library, but plans fell through when the Library could not produce the requested escrow fund. In January 1994 Council and the Library were discussing a way for the Library to stay another year in the old borough hall.
On July 11, 1994, however, an overnight fire all but destroyed the old borough hall. The library lost its home and most of its books. Volunteers helped clean the site and donated money and books to reestablish the Library. Librarian Frances Tittle and Board President Gail Addyman accepted donations in the fire hall, thinking that the Library would use both floors in the old borough hall when it was repaired. Instead, the building was demolished.
While the library board of trustees searched for a new home, the Methodist Church allowed the library to use its fellowship hall. Summers and Zim’s worked with the Library to renovate their former offices on Valley Avenue, and the Library reopened there in 1996, at first using only the front half of the building. President Addyman said at the time, “I think we’re actually at a better place than where we were two years ago. We have successfully replenished our stock. The difference between now and then is that what we have now is much more current.”
In 2000 or so, state aid funding radically changed and the library suddenly had a consistent, though small, budget to work with. In 2006, the Chester County Library System contacted Commonwealth Libraries, which granted Atglen Public Library status as a fully functioning library and allowed to use our legal name again. In 2009, the Library expanded to the full ground floor in Valley Avenue building and renovated the space again in 2014. In 2016 the Library was operating with a budget of $70,568.
In 2020, Atglen Public Library embarked on the renovation of the old Sener’s Store with the help of the building owner, Matthew Kehoe, and a capital campaign in the community. The Library reopened in its new home on March 28, 2022. This new facility, twice the size of the old library, provided ADA-compliance, off-street parking, and a small program room. The Zimmerman Room, a small conference open for public use, commemorates the 26-year support of Joe and Tracie Zimmerman. Atglen Public Library now operates with a $210,000 budget and offers 47 open hours and an average of 15 hours of programming each week. As a member of the Chester County Library System, Atglen Public Library offers over a million titles of books, magazines, and movies to western Chester County.
Being in George Sener’s store and having our parking lot on the site of the original library feels like we have come home.
Bonus Points: Did any of you Harry Potter fans notice that, in a way, the Library was started by Fawkes and was reborn after a fire?
