Eighteen months after the completion of a transformational building renovation, the Haverford Township Free Library is having a banner year.
“All of our statistics are up,” said library director Maryanne Olson, sitting in her office on a quiet Monday morning as toddlers assembled for story time nearby and patrons moved silently through the maze of stacks.
The Haverford Library reopened in May 2025 after an 18-month, $22 million renovation. The project expanded its square footage and added improved spaces for kids, teens, and adults to read, work, create, and congregate. Additions included study and meeting spaces, cozy reading nooks, a local history research room, and the MakerSpace, an interactive workshop where visitors can use technology like 3D printers and laser cutters and take classes on everything from art to coding.
The renovation was funded by a $13 million appropriation from Haverford Township, as well as state and federal grants, American Rescue Plan Act funding, and a contribution from the library.
Since the reopening, programming, reference queries, and participation have ballooned, Olson said, as residents flock to the building to borrow items, learn new skills, and meet their neighbors.
It has also given library staff the opportunity to hold more programs and events. In the first nine months of 2026, program offerings at the library increased by 284% over 2022, the last full year the building was open pre-renovation.
Library staff reported five times as many program attendees and twice as many reference queries as in 2022. Physical visits to the building have risen from 106,383 in 2022 to 123,205 in the first nine months of 2026. And the year isn’t over.
“It sort of, to me, puts to rest this idea that people don’t need to come to the library,” Olson said.
Olson stepped into the role of library director a year ago after spending a decade in the Queens Public Library system in New York City, most recently as the library’s Ridgewood Branch manager.
Olson pointed to several factors behind the Haverford Library’s successful year. More programs and the desire for “third spaces” and opportunities to meet people have drawn in everyone from 20-somethings to young parents to senior citizens. As concerns about affordability mount, libraries across the U.S. have also seen an uptick in cardholder membership, circulation, and event attendance, a phenomenon Olson has observed locally.
The Haverford Library hosts dozens of events and workshops each week, ranging from quilting and canasta for adults to Dungeons and Dragons for teens. There are more than a dozen book clubs, and children’s story time takes place multiple times a week.
“What I think is really heartening for me is to see just the number of people who are coming into the library,” Olson said.
In surveys and in-person conversations, patrons have called the library “a wonderful safe space for children and teens,” a “welcoming atmosphere,” and “the intellectual center of our community,” Olson shared.
The library’s forthcoming Dine and Discover senior program has more than 60 registrants. Last Friday, usually a quiet day in the after-school hours, Olson said, the library was “just slammed” with teenagers, who she said were “really engaged in the space.”
Beyond programs, Olson said, she has seen increased interest in the library’s collection, which extends far beyond the bookshelf.
Patrons can borrow museum passes, Kindles, hot spots, and Roku streaming sticks. They can take virtual yoga classes, read newspapers and magazines, comb through genealogy databases, and use study guides. Through the “Library of Things,” members can check out everything from cornhole sets to camping chairs to label makers. Olson is borrowing serving platters for her holiday meals this year.
With affordability top of mind for many people, Olson said, access to no-cost items only becomes more important.
“People appreciate coming here because things are free,” she said.
Despite abundant warnings that “the end of reading” has arrived, Olson said books “are still front and center.” The library’s highest circulation still comes from physical materials, especially for parents of young children.
The biggest complaint Olson has received? Patrons want even more, which the library director considers a “good problem to have.”
“They’re not just walking in and walking out,” Olson said of library patrons. “They’re coming in, and they’re really using the space, and they’re sharing with their friends, ‘Oh, you should really check out the library and see everything that’s offered.’”
Inquirer Haverford
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