Sterling library gets $112,000 state grant to upgrade its elevator

Shaw Local

STERLING – Sterling Public Library has won a nearly $112,000 state grant, money it will use to modernize its elevator.

The elevator was installed in the historic 1905 Carnegie building at 102 W. Third St. in 1986, and is in need of modernization so it will continue to work, library Director Jennifer Slaney said.

The project will cost around $224,000, and so the library will need to match the grant.

The money is part of $870,800 from the Live and Learn Construction Grant program, Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White said in a news release Wednesday announcing the fiscal year 2022 disbursement.

Matching grants are awarded based on recommendations from a statewide committee following a review process.

The last major renovation was done in spring 2020, when the library was closed because of the pandemic.

A crew from Sterling Commercial Roofing works to remove copper trim from the exterior of the Sterling Public Library in this April 27, 2020 file photo. The project cost $200,000, and put an end to decades of water damage. (Michael Krabbenhoeft)

Sterling Commercial Roofing was hired to remove and replace the mold-damaged copper cornice and deteriorating wood supports in the original wing, which was built in 1903, that had caused years worth of water damage.

That project cost about $200,000, money that came from a memorial donation and the library’s reserve fund, Slaney said.

For more information on the library, or to make a donation, go to www.sterlingpubliclibrary.or or call 815-625-1370.