District Library Centers

The Westmoreland County Federated Library System (WCFLS) is a District Center for 23 public Libraries in Westmoreland County. It is one of 29 such Districts in the state of Pennsylvania. All are administered under the Department of Education, Office of Commonwealth Libraries. Murrysville Community Library, Delmont Public Library, Greensburg Hempfield Area Library, Penn Area Public Library and Manor Public Library, all within the distribution range of this newspaper, belong to the WCFLS, and the District, as with every District, is required to abide by Pennsylvania Code § 141.22. When fully in compliance, the District is also entitled to benefits.

All of this is mostly invisible to patrons. Who cares? But, there is an important point to make, and that is that PA public Libraries are held to minimum state standards for informal learning just as schools are held to standards for formal learning.

The Code says: “In approving or disapproving plans for the use of State funds for District Library Center service, decisions of the State Librarian shall be determined by whether or not the Library meets or surpasses the minimum standards set forth in subsections (b)—(f) or whether or not the plan leads toward achievement of them.”

It also says: “A District Library Center is a Library [or approved separate location, as for the WCFLS] designated as such by the State Librarian and the Governor’s Advisory Council on Library Development and which shall receive State aid for the purpose of making resources and services available without charge to all the residents and the taxpayers of its District …...”

There is much more, but the above gives you an idea about how the State structures service to the benefit of each and every community whether having its own Library or not. Because, every Library is assigned a service area such that all communities in PA are served.

For public Libraries, State aid is not a gift. It is a responsibility.

Note to the readers of the Penn-Franklin News: The legal name of the District Center to which your public Libraries belong is Westmoreland County Federated Library System (WCFLS). A mouthful! Until recently, and since 2008, the fictitious name for public use has been Westmoreland Library Network (WLNä), as it appeared on Library cards, and still appears above. For 2025, the fictitious name has been changed to Westmoreland County Libraries (WCL).