Penn Township library volunteer says 'it’s a heck of a lot of fun'

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Anne Allen has spent most of her life in a library, so when the opportunity presented itself for her to volunteer at the Penn Area Library, she jumped at it.

The 66-year-old from Penn Township has been on the board of The Friends of Penn Area Library for at least eight years and has spent the last two as president of the association. Prior to that, Allen spent more than 20 years as a member of the library’s board of trustees, where she acted as a liaison between the board and The Friends organization.

“My mother was a librarian, and I moved here from Iowa and back then there were two libraries,” Allen said, referring to one in Level Green and the other in the Harrison City municipal building. “I just got involved because it looked like they were a pretty small organization that needed help. I love the library.”

The goal for members of The Friends of Penn Area Library is to raise funds for the Municipal Court facility by hosting three book sales per year, as well as stocking a sales rack inside the library. In addition to selling books, the organization sells jigsaw puzzles and audiobooks and offers a rack with free items such as VHS tapes and magazines.

From its 2000 inception, the organization has raised at least $54,000 for the library, Allen said.

“We all enjoy it,” Allen said of the organization’s seven members. “We just think it’s a heck of a lot of fun.”

The group, which has an upcoming book sale on Aug. 6-7, said the events typically get a good turnout, with about 50 people waiting in line prior to the library doors opening.

So far, funds raised by The Friends of Penn Area Library have been used to host a puppet show for children, purchase shelving to hold DVDs and more. Throughout the covid-19 pandemic, funds were used to provide take-home activities for adults and children. Allen noted that people continued to donate money throughout the pandemic.

Funds raised by the organization also are used to sponsor Ancestry.com, a genealogy database that is available free of charge on the library’s public computers.

As president of the organization, Allen is tasked with running monthly meetings. She noted that because of the group’s small size, members typically pitch in on whatever needs to be done.

Volunteers are always welcome. Those who are interested can contact the library at 724-744-4414.

“We are really happy to help the library and its mission,” Allen said. “We get to see a lot of people that we know and meet other people at the book sales. We have regulars we have have at every one. … It brings the community together, it supports the library and we all think it’s a lot of fun.”