ERIE BUSINESS

Gannon's CLEER records more than 17,000 visits in its first year at Blasco Library

Gannon's Center for Lake Erie Education and Research has completed its first year at Blasco Library, serving residents, schools and visitors through science programming.

ERIEBIZTODAY BRIEFOctober 5, 2026 at 8:00 AM EDT

AI-generated illustration of Erie's waterfront at blue hour — Erie regional illustration · AI-generated; not a photograph of the reported event.

More than 17,000 people visited Gannon University's Center for Lake Erie Education and Research during its first year, TalkErie reported on October 5. CLEER opened at Blasco Library in October 2025 through Gannon's Project NePTWNE initiative.

The university reported visits from about 600 students representing a dozen schools, plus 241 homeschool students. The center combines Great Lakes education, public programs and research displays, including NOAA's Science On a Sphere. Its books are also available through the public library's lending collection.

WHY IT MATTERSErieBizToday analysis

CLEER's location inside Blasco Library puts university science programming in a public setting on Erie's Bayfront. Visits by students from a dozen schools, homeschool students and other visitors show that the space is reaching audiences beyond campus. Library lending also extends access to its educational materials beyond a visit to the center.

For schools and families, the significance is an additional place to encounter Great Lakes research and learning. More than 17,000 first-year visits demonstrate use, but they do not measure learning gains or visitor spending in the surrounding area. Repeat school participation, new programs and evidence of educational outcomes would help explain the center's longer-term contribution. The attendance milestone provides a starting point for that assessment, rather than a complete measure of its impact.

An ErieBizToday briefing examining the news and its implications for Pennsylvania businesses and communities, drawing on the sources and further reporting linked below.