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History
The library's story begins in 1968. Lauri
Ann West, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James A. West,
tragically died of a stroke while a third grader at Boyd
Elementary School. The West family created a
lasting memorial for their daughter and her love
for books by building an addition to the school to serve
as a children's library.
The Lauri Ann West Memorial Library served as the
school library until 1982. At that time, the Fox
Chapel Area School District closed the Boyd School due
to declining student enrollment.
The West family was eager to keep the Library
open to the entire community. Though many groups
had tried without success to establish a library in the
area, after a year of careful planning and negotiation
the School District offered the building to O'Hara
Township on a gratis basis with the condition that the
Township use the building for community purposes.
The Community Center and Library Association (CCLA) was
incorporated to oversee this development. A lease
agreement was reached with the Townships which permits
the CCLA to use the building. The CCLA Board of
Directors hired a managing director for the Boyd
Community Center, which opened officially in July
1983. Since that time, the Center has provided
daycare facilities, classes of the Community College of
Allegheny County, and a variety of recreational, social,
and cultural activities for the community. Rental
charges, municipal support, individual contributions and
hundreds of volunteer hours have enabled the Center to
operate.
From the beginning, CCLA envisioned that the
Lauri Ann West Memorial Library would be expanded to
serve adults and children residing in the Fox Chapel
Area School District. When the Library first
opened to the public, it was staffed entirely by
volunteers. Since that time, the library has grown
into a full service library and maintains professional
library staff to serve the public's information and
recreational
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