by Michael Mikolajczyk

Created on: January 06, 2011   Last Updated: January 08, 2011

It is quite interesting that one of the most universally-visited locations in communities across America, the local library, is also one of the very last places thought about when financial donations are considered. Often, people think first about places like Goodwill, churches, or local non-profit charities – and although absolutely nothing is meant to be taken away by some of the marvelous things that those services manage to provide some of our neediest citizens, it is nevertheless crucial to also understand that libraries, especially in the budget crunch caused by the recession, is as needy as ever for financial stability.

When you donate to a library, you are helping to preserve the thousands of books encased within its building, yes; you are helping to maintain a vital lifeline to something that we so often take for granted – the internet – to the poor and elderly of your community, yes; and you are sustaining a location where people of all ages can come and learn about subjects both usual and unusual, yes; but in all honesty, you are preserving so much more than those admittedly wonderful things.

With a donation to a library, you are helping to preserve an experience. From children walking into a library, mouths agape at shelf after shelf of books to teenagers studiously researching a last-minute project to the wizened adult’s jubilant face after discovering just the right book, we all have and share feelings of happiness with the library. Why would we not, then, want to help such a service stay afloat?

The question of “How do we help?” still begs to be asked, however; thankfully, the answer is often quite simple. By going to your local library’s website – most often accessible through a Google search of “___ county library,” you will normally see links or headlines referring to fundraisers or events taking place in the coming months.

Perhaps more importantly, most libraries have links to a program called “Friends of the Library,” or something similarly named. This program, for usually less than twenty dollars a year, provides a vital lifeline to a woefully underfunded service.

This donation can provide needed monetary resources for projects such as remodeling, new activities, community outreach, or simply keeping the lights on every week. Often times, after obtaining membership in the Friends of the Library, opportunities for volunteer work, such as staffing fundraising events or aiding in construction, will arise, allowing donation of time when monetary donations are not always as feasible.

As you can see, donating to the library and helping maintain this universal experience is frequently just a click away, and its use is one of the most worthwhile investments that can be made.

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