Burns: Cambria County Library receives $748K state grant
Grant will fund elevator upgrade, learning lab and community room
Rep. Frank Burns April 6, 2026 | 1:14 PM
JOHNSTOWN, April 6 — A new state grant of $748,771 will allow Cambria County Library to create a learning lab and community room and upgrade an elevator, state Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria, announced today.
The local library is one of 27 statewide that received funding from a recent $11 million allotment of Keystone grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
“Cambria County Library is a community asset,” Burns said. “Throughout my career, I’ve been a big supporter of our local library, so I’m glad to see another state grant coming back home to it. It’s very important to me that we support childhood literacy and other reading programs, because reading is a fundamental skill.”
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“Throughout my career, I’ve been a big supporter of our local library, so I’m glad to see another state grant coming back home to it.” – Rep. Burns
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Other grants and state assistance awarded to Cambria County Library with Burns’ support in recent years include:
- $2 million for increased broadband access. Burns and Gov. Josh Shapiro visited the library in 2025 to discuss this grant award.
- $35,550 in tax credits for ADA-accessible renovations and staff training.
- $364,100 to help fund HVAC replacements.
- $20,000 to continue the local library’s participation in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a book-gifting program for children.
The latest grant comes from the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund, established by the General Assembly in 1993. The Department of Education, through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Bureau of Library Development, administers the public library portion of this program which is funded from a portion of the state’s realty transfer tax.
Keystone grants prioritize public library facility projects that address accessibility, energy efficiency, non-routine maintenance of essential systems, improving or restoring interior public spaces, and constructing new libraries or building additions.
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