When the doors open to a renovated McCormick Riverfront Library later this month, they will swing wide enough to tell every community member that this is their place to belong.

“The Library creates a truly safe space for everyone, literally everyone,” says Dauphin County Library System Library board member and project adviser La-Verna Fountain, describing the role of The Library in bridging diversity and disparities.

At 10 a.m. on Thursday, October 20, the grand reopening and ribbon cutting of McCormick Riverfront Library will showcase transformation in action. Through a $3.5 million capital campaign supported by a broad spectrum of individuals and organizations, the 107-year-old building has been reimagined to be more spacious, modern, child-friendly, and accessible and to serve as an anchor of community life.

• A host of activities are planned around the McCormick Riverfront Library and Haldeman Haly House ribbon cutting. To learn more, visit dcls.org/YouBelongHere  

Revitalization carefully preserves the space’s historical elements while dazzling with state-of-the-art features for today. McCormick Riverfront Library now has a children’s area dedicated to STREAM learning, job center, Good Brotha’s Café, and T. Morris Chester Welcome Center and Research Collection preserving the work of Harrisburg’s groundbreaking civil rights advocate.

“This ribbon-cutting brings together all elements of our marvelous, vibrant community for a glorious celebration,” says Dauphin County Library System Executive Director Karen Cullings. “We truly are turning the page to a new chapter in the life of the city of Harrisburg and Dauphin County. We are deeply grateful to all the civic leaders and community members who share our vision and stepped up to support it.”

But as leaders of the Your Place to Belong campaign agree, this is only the beginning. The new space lays the table for more fully incorporating The Library into downtown Harrisburg’s cultural, educational, and social life and its institutions, says Your Place to Belong campaign Co-chair Susan L. Anthony.

“What seemed like a bricks-and-mortar capital campaign is really about people and our community,” Anthony says. “That’s what people have invested in. Now, it’s the pedal to the metal in terms of use of the building, its function, its availability, its accessibility for a variety of different audiences and ages and community partners.”

It is, she adds, “a natural evolution in our library, but one that is keeping the library relevant.”

The 1914 dedication of the Harrisburg Public Library brought the city “a premiere, exemplary library,” says Your Place to Belong Co-chair Andrew Enders. The 2022 renovation provides “a complete overhaul and refresh” that restores its magnificence.

“We brought something already spectacular back to life, with a renewed sense of purpose in our community,” Enders says.

The project moved staff offices to the newly adjoined Haldeman Haly House while enabling a partnership that relocated The Library’s print shop to the Penn National Insurance building. Those changes allow all spaces in the landmark McCormick Riverfront Library to return to public use, Enders notes.

“We needed so many different elements to align, and they all did because of the community support we had and the support of the library staff that understood the vision of the board and leadership,” he says.

After ribbon cutting, there’s still work to be done, says Fountain.

“We need to design programming that truly incorporates the community,” she says. “I believe it’s important. I believe it’s necessary. We can do all the thinking and talking among ourselves that we want to. The key is to really listen. We’ve got to make people know they belong there, not just because of what we’re bringing to them but because of what they’re bringing to us, too.”

Cullings recognizes the work ahead and is leading every Library staff member in striving toward new heights in creativity and inclusion.

“This community reached into its pockets and shared its ideas, and they are handing us a once-in-a-lifetime gift,” Cullings says. “We are deeply humbled, and we are also energized. The best way to thank everyone who believes in the transformative nature of this project is to put our hearts and souls into enfolding the entire community into our programming and our places.”

Anthony says the work ahead means taking steps to fully and productively utilize the McCormick Riverfront Library and Haldeman Haly House through formal programming and informal usage. Visitors will attend enlightening events and programs, connect to social services and resources that help them find jobs and self-sufficiency, and find a quiet place to reflect or meet a friend – all in a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere.

“Won’t that be lovely to sit looking out the window at the Susquehanna River?” she says.  

The Library must educate the public about the extensive resources and funding needed to maintain a system encompassing a large, diverse county, says Fountain. Partnerships with Good Brotha’s and with Pennsylvania Past Players, whose programs illuminate the lives of pioneers in social justice, are “about as beautiful as it gets.” Still, they are actually “key starting points” for continuing to stretch toward the goals of inclusiveness, insights, and enlightenment.

“Every time you’re willing to listen, you learn, and you keep listening,” she says. “That allows you to make adjustments as you need.”

The project is rooted in literacy, in every sense of the word, says Enders. Libraries are stewards of resources that can be found and made accessible almost instantaneously for robust community dialog and reflection in the wake of fast-moving news cycles and events.

“Out of literacy comes discourse,” he says. “Our Library is now a place where discourse can occur and happen naturally. Our public services team is focused on programming events and series that will prompt and encourage, if not mandate, discourse.”

The dedication marks “the end of one chapter,” Enders says. The renovation turned the spotlight on the flagship that anchors Dauphin County Library System. It fuels conversations and planning about further outreach countywide with the can-do spirit it embodies.

“It does give us a lot of confidence to say that our Library is as relevant as it has ever been, but we are not going to be the library it has always been,” he says.

Anthony sees endless potential ahead.

“We want to see both McCormick Riverfront Library and Haldeman Haly House used by organizations, individuals, businesses, educational institutions, clubs, you name it,” she says. “We want the place to be inhabited and used and lived in. Whoever you are and whatever you represent, come on in. You belong here.”

Join all the fun Dauphin County Library System has planned for the grand reopening of McCormick Riverfront Library:

• Ribbon cutting: 10 a.m. October 20, 101 Walnut Street, Harrisburg.
• Historic preservation tours: Featuring Historic Harrisburg Association Executive Director David Morrison and architect Charles Alexander, noon and 5:30 p.m. October 20 (registration requested).
• History of Haldeman Haly House: Presented by Historical Society of Dauphin County archivist Ken Frew, 3 p.m. October 20 (registration requested).
• You Belong Here welcome tours: Noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 21. Stop in any time, and receive a free Good Brotha’s coffee and mug.

Information and registrations at dcls.org/youbelonghere. And don’t miss these grand reopening events:

• Books & Brews: Celebration and fundraiser with local beers, food, music, tasting glass, and book talk with local author Rodney Ross, 5:30 p.m. October 21, Tickets: $35. dcls.org/beer.
• Fun & Family Day: STREAM activities and family fun, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November 5. Reading by Joan Y. Leopold Children’s Book Week author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, 3 p.m.