Allegany County’s Westernport Library renovation project recently received the 2009 Maryland Association for Interior Design honors for Design of the Year.
The library had not received any significant improvements since 1969. The renovation was designed to enhance the library’s ability to deliver services by making needed safety, lighting, and electrical upgrades as well as reconfiguring the floor plan, upgrading the furnishings, and modernizing the interior spaces.
The Maryland State Department of Education’s Division of Library Development Services provided the Allegany County Library with $63,000 for this project through the fiscal 2008 County Library Capital Grant Program. Matching funds at the local level totaled $80,000.
Maryland’s County Library Capital Grant Program addresses a variety of critical needs for libraries across the state. Projects have included renovations as well as new construction.