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Volunteer board promotes library in South Fayette
'Connect, learn and grow together' at the library
Volunteer board promotes South Fayette library as key service
By Andrea Iglar
David Alligood reads biographies about business leaders and political figures.
Sucheta Moghe learns new software.
Kelleigh Boland downloads digital books to her Kindle. Each finds these resources at the South Fayette Township Library.
The residents serve on a seven-member board that oversees the public library, which is an independent, non-government organization.
Boland, the vice president, joined the board in 2022.
“Libraries are such important centers for people to connect, learn and grow together, and I wanted to be some small part of that for South Fayette,” she said.
The volunteer board oversees general management of the library, directs funds and policies, and advocates for the library.
Paid staff members, headed by director Ben Hornfeck, handle day-to-day operations.
Alligood, the board president, said the library hosts more than 1,000 programs and outreach events each year, while patrons check out 100,000 physical and digital items.
“That’s really staggering,” Alligood said. “It motivates us to do more.”
Looking toward the future, the library board recently established strategic priorities in four areas—community engagement and service, organizational excellence, community partnerships and facility development.
The visioning process, Boland said, enabled the board to consider the library from a broad perspective.
“The main thing is to respond to what the community wants,” she said. “As the community grows, our library needs the resources and people and representation to also grow to meet that community need.”
Size is a major issue for the library, which operates from a space in the former municipal building on Millers Run Road. The board is working with township officials to determine how the library can partner to develop a larger, improved facility.
“Ben and his staff do so much from a collection and programming standpoint now, and our facility is obviously a little outdated and in need of improvements,” Alligood said. “So in a new facility, it’s really exponential what that reach can become.”
The library has been awarded a $750,000 state grant that could help fund new space, and the library board is considering additional revenue options.
Moghe said a larger facility “only will happen through fundraising, and we want our community to be aware of that.”
Meanwhile, the library board partners with an auxiliary group, Friends of the South Fayette Township Library, to hold fundraisers that offset program and collection expenses. In September, the group raised more than $19,000 through an online raffle and the Beer for Books event. The Jack Buncher Foundation will partly match those funds.
The township makes contributions to the library each year, but as an independent organization, the library is responsible for securing its own funding.
Library board members are appointed to three-year terms, with a two-term limit, and they meet monthly. Openings are expected in the next couple of years, and South Fayette residents will be invited to apply.
Moghe joined the board in 2023 to give back to the community. A teacher in India, she switched to the field of information technology after moving to the U.S. and improved her software knowledge through free library resources.
Moghe said serving on the board is a satisfying experience.
“I know that we have to give up our time; it is totally volunteer work,” she said. “But because of the library board, I feel I’ve gained knowledge. Also, I’m part of the decision making, so that is something I’m proud of.”
