About Us

The library opened its doors in on April 30, 1903, thanks to the generosity of Andrew Carnegie, who believed that education is the cornerstone of success. At that time, Connellsville was the leading coke producer in the world and immigrants were flocking here to work in the mines and coke works. Built of sandstone in the Italianate manner, the building housed books and magazines and offered early patrons both educational and recreational reading, as well as musical evenings in the second floor auditorium. The library was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. Library patrons now have access to more than a million volumes including magazines, e-books, audio books, music and movies through the WAGGIN network.

Carnegie Free Library of Connellsville is a PA Forward-accredited Gold Star Library. For public libraries, PA Forward positions them as essential to a growing customer base of private and municipal organizations and individuals. It also showcases them as high-quality early learning providers which ultimately saves taxpayer dollars otherwise needed for remedial programs.

Carnegie Free Library is a member of Fayette County Libraries and was the 13th library that Andrew Carnegie commissioned in the United States. It is a member of the WAGGIN network system, a shared and integrated library catalog comprised of Fayette, Washington and Greene county libraries.

Carnegie Free Library's mission is to meet the educational, informational and recreational needs of the community. The library connects the community to a wide range of materials and resources available for lifelong learning, personal development and the pursuit of knowledge.