Sharpsburg should soon have what every small town covets -- a library on Main Street.

A private company's gift of $100,000 and another $150,000 in public money will turn a bankrupt Indian restaurant into a place where people can explore the world through books.

The Weiner Family Foundation, which is managed by the Longboat Group, a local investment and management company, will donate the $100,000 to Sharpsburg so the borough can purchase the defunct restaurant at 1212 Main St.

Ron Borczyk, borough secretary, said the gift should be completed within a few days. Tuesday night, borough council, by a 5-0 vote of members present, approved the purchase. "Everyone's behind this project 100 percent," Mr. Borczyk said. He said the charitable gesture was critical because it spared taxpayers the cost of acquiring a suitable site.

Renovating the building for use as a library will be paid for mostly by public money.

State Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, said two state development grants of $75,000 each will finance most of the renovation costs. Mr. Ferlo said one grant is in hand and he expects to land the other soon.

His hope is to have the library open within six months. Renovation costs will be trimmed a bit because architect Joseph Serrao is donating his services.

The Sharpsburg branch of the Lauri Ann West Memorial Library had been housed on the third floor of the former Linden Elementary School, which was purchased by the D.T. Watson Institute in 2004. Mr. Ferlo said the arrangement was not ideal for the institute or for library patrons.

D.T. Watson, he said, needed space taken up by the library for its education programs. Plus, older people and those with handicaps had difficulty getting to the library on the upper floor of the building.

So the library closed, packed up some 30,000 books and began searching for a ground-floor location.

Businessman Joe Rios offered to store the book collection, and many volunteers helped with the packing. About 3,200 books were pulled from the collection to be stocked in a bookmobile provided by the Allegheny County Library Association.

Mr. Borczyk credited Mr. Ferlo with having the skill and persistence to put together a public-private partnership for the new library.

"This borough desperately needed a library. Having one will improve the quality of life for our 3,600 residents," Mr. Borczyk said.

Sharpsburg will own the building, lease it at no charge to the library, and spend $18,000 a year to pay for operational costs of the library. It plans to enter into a contract with the Lauri Ann West Memorial Library to continue running the Sharpsburg library, Mr. Borczyk said.

The main Lauri Ann West Memorial Library in O'Hara is also anticipating a move to a new building next to the Fox Chapel municipal building. The library serves the Fox Chapel Area School District communities of Aspinwall, Blawnox, Fox Chapel, Indiana Township, O'Hara and Sharpsburg.

The borough will seek funding to maintain the Sharpsburg library. "We're entering into a 10-year plan to project fund-raising needs for the library," Mr. Borcyzk said.

Kathy Amrhein, manager of the Sharpsburg library branch, noted that last year 748 registered patrons generated a total circulation of 19,223, including videos and CDs. The library's budget this year is $46,763.

Stephanie Flom, executive director of the Lauri Ann West Memorial Library, believes Sharpsburg residents will embrace the new location.

"It's a great business district location with ample parking and room for expansion," she said.

While construction of the new library is underway, Sharpsburg residents can still check out books. The bookmobile will be stationed at North Canal and 13th streets at Kennedy Park until the project is completed.

The bookmobile will operate on a 20-hour-a-week schedule: Mondays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Thursdays, 2 to 6 p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.