How does a library started at a 1936 PTA meeting cover the part of its budget that public money doesn't? This fall the Dormont Public Library is trying something new. It's selling tickets to a costume party with a live rock band, a raffle and drinks, open only to adults 21 and over.
The party is called the Dormonster Mash. It's on Saturday, October 24, from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Dormont Recreation Center, and it's the first one the library has ever held. The library has set a $10,000 goal for the night. To see why that number matters, look at what the borough and the state already pay for.
The Quarter the Budget Doesn't Cover
In its 2026 Love Your Library letter to residents, the library said it has "depended on Borough, RAD, and State funding but that only covers 75% of our budget." The other quarter comes from neighbors. In September the library asked for gifts of $25, $50 or $100. Donors who gave $50 or more could pick up a new tote bag, and gifts up to $500 qualified for a partial match from the Jack Buncher Foundation.
That September campaign looked like most library fundraisers. There were themed raffle baskets at $3 a ticket, or 5 for $10, with the drawing set for early October. There was also a Family Fun Fall Festival with carnival games at the library on Sunday, September 27.
What changed this year is who the library is asking. The September events were mostly for families and kids. The two biggest fundraisers on the fall calendar are for adults only.
A Fall Calendar Written for Adults
The first sign came in late summer. The library announced a four-session wine seminar taught by a staff member who is a professional chef with wine experience in the hospitality industry. Each class cost $45, or $165 for all four. Students had to be 21 by October 21, and all proceeds benefit the library.
The sessions go deeper than a casual tasting:
- Introduction to the Basics, October 21: winemaking, glassware, opening a bottle and the major grape varietals
- Celebration Time, October 28: sparkling wine versus Champagne, opening sparkling bottles safely, and tasting three styles
- The World of Wine, November 4: California, Oregon, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany
- Food and Wine Pairing Made Easy, November 11: cooking with wine and planning courses for holiday entertaining
Payment was due by September 30, so the series is no longer open to new students. Still, it tells you something. A library that already runs Adult Craft Time and an Adult Book Club is now building paid programs for adults and using them to raise money.
The Dormonster Mash is the bigger version of that idea, and it's the one you can still get into.
What October 24 Actually Looks Like
The invitation says to "come party like it's 1993," and the details fit the theme.
Where: The Dormont Recreation Center at 1801 Dormont Avenue, on the second floor of the pool building.
Who's playing: The Replicas, a Pittsburgh band whose site describes them as a '60s to '00s rock cover band. The band hasn't posted a setlist, but the 1990s fall within the decades they cover.
What else: Drinks and snacks, raffle prizes, and prizes for the costume contest.
Who can attend: The event is 21 and over.
What it costs: Early-bird tickets at $30 sold out after September 18. Tickets are now $35 and will be $40 on the day of the event. A VIP cocktail hour runs from 6 to 7 p.m. for an extra charge. The ticket page lists that upgrade at two different prices, so check your total at checkout. The ticket page also offers an optional $2.50 add-on to cover credit card fees.
Tickets are on the library's Dormonster Mash page. Buying before the 24th saves $5.
The event has two sponsors. One is Ted Thompson Heating & Cooling. The other is Forage Vintage & Goods, the Potomac Avenue shop that sells vintage furniture, clothing, records and locally made goods. The library is still looking for more sponsors and has posted a sponsorship packet for interested businesses.
From a PTA Meeting to 2950 West Liberty
The library calls itself a 90-year institution, and its history explains why it's on West Liberty Avenue today. According to the library's own account:
- May 8, 1936: The library's story begins at a Kelton Parent-Teacher Association meeting.
- June 1937: The collection moves into Arthur Wessel's office on West Liberty Avenue.
- Later years: The library shares a room with the YMCA on Glenmore Avenue.
- 1957: Dormont Borough buys the lot at 2950 West Liberty Avenue.
- December 16, 1962: The new library is dedicated there with an open house.
- 1989: A second story is added.
- 1996: An elevator is installed.
- 1998: The parking lot is redone.
For the first two decades, the library moved between rooms other organizations were willing to share. The borough bought the West Liberty Avenue lot 69 years ago, and the library building there will mark 64 years this December. That's why the funding split matters. The borough owns the land and covers part of the budget, but programs depend on the rest, and there were plenty of them. The library says 1,425 people attended its programs last year.
Many of those programs never come up in a conversation about books. The library has a large meeting space and a soundproof TalkBox, provided by Dollar Bank, for taking calls and meetings. It also lends museum passes to the Heinz History Center and the Fort Pitt Museum. Its monthly Doggie Storytime lets kids practice reading aloud to a therapy dog.
One of those therapy dogs is Buzz, who comes every month with his handler, Pat. She's also a regular donor, and the library quoted her in its fall letter:
"The library is a big part of who I am and will continue to be! As a child we went to the library every other week. Libraries are everything! I use the library for books, classes, meetings, information, socialization, and volunteering!"
Her list matches what the library is doing this fall. Books and classes are on it, and so are meetings, socializing and volunteering, which are what the adult programs are built around.
The Rest of Dormont's Late October
The Mash is the first of two Saturday nights in a row with something going on in the borough. Trick-or-treat is Saturday, October 31, from 6 to 8 p.m., according to the borough's event calendar, and Dormont Police and the Fire Department will be out that evening. The borough events page is the place to check for any changes.
Inside the library, the wine series meets on Wednesday evenings, October 21 and 28, for students who are already registered. Daytime programs continue as usual. The library's calendar lists morning and afternoon Weekday Storytime sessions on November 5. It also lists Finding Your Creative Voice, an adult arts-and-crafts evening, on December 8 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
So the library is filling its calendar for every age, and it has started asking adults to help pay for it through classes and parties as well as donations.
Living a short walk from the library and the Rec Center is part of what a Dormont home is worth, and it rarely shows up on a listing sheet. If you're curious how your home on these blocks would price today, Wendy Weaver can walk you through it. Get your instant home valuation, and we hope to see you in costume on the 24th.
