Stories in the Stacks 2024

The Ardmore Free Library is holding a fundraising event in order to raise funds to support library programs and collections. Funds provided by the Commonwealth to libraries are used for staff and facilities and it is up to the local library boards to fund the programs and collections. While the township provides generous support for library staff and facilities, Ardmore Free Library volunteers and board members raise the annual funds needed to provide books, audio, and video materials and to offer vibrant programs – all available at no charge to the community. Our 2024 fundraising goal is $43,000. All money raised stays in Ardmore and helps provide the latest books and materials for our children, teen and adult collections and provides educational and entertaining programs for our community. Some examples of these programs include: story and music time, playgroups, STEM classes and summer reading and book clubs. The library also offers a variety of digital services including audio and e-books, magazines, music and movies.

The first of Lower Merion’s six libraries, Ardmore started with little more than six dollars in the treasury, 300 books, and big plans for the future. The collection was housed in a rented room of the Merion Title and Trust Building, where its resources were accessible to the entire community. In 1917, the Women’s Club erected a clubhouse and attached a separate wing that gave the library a permanent home on Ardmore Avenue. The Ardmore Free Library still stands here today.