NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 6, 1997 FOR MORE INFORMATION: Glenn A. Walsh (412) 561-7876, (412) 276-8160 or NEWS RELEASE CANCELLED: December 8, 1997 LIBRARY CLOSING FOR EXTENDED HOLIDAY BREAK Carnegie, Pa., Dec. 6 - The Andrew Carnegie Free Library, 300 Beechwood Avenue in Carnegie Borough, will be closed for an extended holiday break period from December 21 through January 9. The last day of Library operation, in 1997, will be Saturday, December 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the Library will reopen to the public on Saturday, January 10 at 10 a.m. Books taken-out, prior to the Library closing, can be kept for five weeks, instead of the normal two-week loan period. Books can always be returned, prior to the Library reopening in January, using the Library night depository bin. Please note that events in the Library's Music Hall and Lecture Hall are not affected by the Library closing. These events will continue as scheduled. The Library is normally closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day. The extended break period is necessitated by a shortage of funds to operate the Library. Closing for these three weeks may save the Library between $5,000 and $6,000, according to Library Treasurer Robert Valeriano. The Library Board of Trustees believes that closing during this period, when fewer people use the Library, will allow the Library to remain open when it is needed by school children. The Library Board continues its efforts to raise funds from the municipality, and from the residents of the Chartiers Valley, to ensure a more complete Library schedule in 1998. Donations to the Library, which are tax-deductable, can be mailed to: Andrew Carnegie Free Library, 300 Beechwood Avenue, Carnegie, Pa. 15106. A donation of any amount will be greatly appreciated. The Andrew Carnegie Free Library opened as the fourth free public library, constructed and endowed by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, on May 1, 1901. In addition to a Library, the cultural complex includes a 780-seat Music Hall(patterned after Carnegie Hall in New York City), 140-seat Lecture Hall, Civil War Museum, and discount bookstore. - 30 -