Every story found inside a library has its own characters. The tale of finding a new location for the Osterhout Free Library’s South Branch in Wilkes-Barre is no different.
“There's just so much there that I was determined it was going to stay in Rolling Mill Hill, absolutely,” said Linda Joseph, president of the namesake neighborhood association. She’s a protagonist in the library’s story.
In January, the story’s antagonist — burst pipes and a deteriorating century-old building at Stanton and Airy Streets — caused the South Branch to permanently close. The library had been there for 99 years. The incident happened just short of its 100th anniversary.
Librarians, including Rachel Schmitt, one of the story's heroes, were able to save almost the entire collection at the former South Branch.
Most people know her as Miss Rebecca. She says it was cold and damp. They’d work until they couldn’t take the conditions anymore.
“It's something you don't expect to happen in your day, and then it does and you just deal with it. It was like ‘Oh, this is what we have to do now, okay,’” Schmitt said.
But they lost about $50,000 in technology, shelving and furniture. The South Branch is currently raising funds to help replace those items.
All of the characters in this story knew that the branch couldn’t just close. It serves over 10,000 patrons each year. The community needed it. Relied on it. There’s an after-school food program for students and important access to technology and the internet. Children and residents had to be able to walk there.
So Joseph, Tony Brooks — this story’s wise sage — and others began scouting the neighborhood for a new location.
Brooks, a local historian who also serves on Wilkes-Barre City Council, said the area is named after a former steel mill.
“I mostly realized, when we didn't have it, how many people would say to all of us, call us, 'when's the library opening? when's the library opening?’” said Joseph. “The neighborhood children and adults will use the library all the time … it's an important part of the area. And, yeah, I was determined.”
They looked at a few locations but nothing felt right.
Roy Castillo’s name kept coming up. He owns Margarita Azul restaurant and other properties in the neighborhood. He’s another of the story’s heroes.
“Roy was wonderful. Roy will do, change, put in whatever we needed,” said Joseph.
At first Castillo suggested putting the library in a warehouse he owns. But Joseph said he called her a few days later and said that’s not the right location for the community.
Then he suggested a building he owns at the corner of Parrish and High streets.
“Then we went, we took the board again, we all went up, and we fell in love with it. And the neighborhood, of course, is perfect. You got the fire station across the street. You got Roy living right there. And so now they decided, yes, this is what we're going to do," said Joseph.
On a late November day, Miss Rebecca is standing next to one of the few pieces of furniture salvaged from the library’s Airy Street location, a heavy wooden desk. It’s been part of the library since its beginnings 100 years ago.
"This is a repurposed building, which is one of our most favorite things," she said.
Miss Rebecca did a little digging. The building was a grocery store in the 1930s and then a dress factory.
Now, the floor and lights are new. Natural light from large street-facing windows illuminates the space. There’s a kitchenette in the back of the space to help the library run its food programs.
“If it weren't for Roy Castillo, this wouldn't have happened,” said Miss Rebecca. “It's going to be the place to be.”
Like its original purpose, Castillo originally had planned to put a small grocery store in the space.
“It's just a very accessible corner, easily walkable. The price was right. The wonderful people at Margarita Azul were willing to work with us and and make some renovations for us and really make it a neighborhood spot, a neighborhood hub, a community hub of education, where people can feel safe and comfortable and feel free to come use the resources of the library,” added Michelle Riley, one of the story's narrators and the Osterhout's Director of Development and Community Relations.
The branch will continue to offer all the services of the Osterhout on South Franklin Street, the district center for the Luzerne County Library System.
“People will come in for a magazine or a DVD for the weekend ... they think of it as theirs. It's like their own personal library,” said Miss Rebecca.
Riley said the library is so much more than books.
They have DVDs and CDs, which she knows aren’t used as much lately, but they also have a CloudLibrary with audio books and library members have access to Kanopy, an online streaming service for movies and TV.
And there’s a library of things. There’s puzzles and games and passes to the Everhart Museum in Scranton.
"We also have tools. We have a metal detector. We have acoustic guitars. People can check out a sewing machine ... we do have technology you can check out, which is huge," said Riley.
They also have a career database for people seeking career advice.
"We're constantly evolving our collection to meet the needs of our patrons, and we think our new South Branch here is going to be just a modern library environment for people to enjoy and to use all those resources as well," she said.
Brooks said libraries are community centers.
"When you go to the library, you go to the reading room, you'll find all different ages and classes of people reading," he said. "All the computers are used by people who can't afford to have a computer at home. So it is the access to the internet for so many people is through going to the library, and it will happen right here in the same neighborhood. You don't have to go downtown to get access for the internet. You can go there.”
Near the turn of the 20th century, libraries in Wilkes-Barre used to be available only for people who paid a subscription, said Brooks.
The library's namesake Isaac Smith Osterhout was a prominent merchant and real estate magnate. Osterhout and his wife, Elizabeth Lee Osterhout, did not have children.
"But they had books," said Brooks. "And when they died, they provided for a very generous endowment to create a free library."
He emphasized "free."
"Isaac changed the whole thing. And when library opened in 1889 it became the working man's university, because everyone could go there for free," he said. “So we owe him a debt of gratitude.”
Saving the South Branch might have just repaid some of that debt.
They expect the new South Branch to open either this month or early 2025 ahead of its 101st anniversary on Jan. 29.
The South Branch of the Osterhout Free Library is still raising funds to replace damaged technology and furniture. To donate, visit https://givebutter.com/southbranch.
