Your Gift Matters…

The Changing Library:

We live in an age that demands that libraries reinvent themselves – as community and civic gathering places; as safe places for children to learn, study, do homework; where parents and children grow together; where old and young learn to read; where minds are challenged and hope is grown.
Libraries must serve new communities in new ways: ways that are “high touch and high tech.” The library of today is challenged:

to provide information through technology, digital media, and media accessible to those with disabilities
to address the social challenges of illiteracy, children’s success in school, and renewing the role of family in education
to address the need for community and civic dialogue
to serve as gathering place – to be the Forum of today’s city
to preserve history through state-of-the-art archival storage and research facilities

Our Library Today:

While the budget has increased recently, years of deferred maintenance, lack of service, and lack of materials have taken their toll. Further, the Georgetown Neighborhood Library stands in ashes; 4 branch libraries are shuttered and served by temporary interim spaces; there is crying need to address the needs of children, youth and new readers; the Peabody Room, an historic collection of documents and artifacts dating back to the 18th century, suffered fire damage and will require significant restoration.

It will take more than the full budget allotment simply to come close to what a nominally functioning library should be. We aim for more. Much more.

You Are Important:

A full transformation of the system is needed…desperately. The role that the Foundation plays in securing funds to improve Library services is more critical than ever. The Foundation provides enhancements and services not provided through regular government funding channels. It allows improvements to occur faster. It makes libraries better than they would have been. Your gift provides the margin of excellence.

Please consider making a donation to create a capital library for a capital city.

$300 will provide a cozy upholstered chair for a children’s room

$500 will provide take-home books for over 300 preschoolers

$2,000 will restore an historic document

$2,500 will purchase an Early Literacy Computer Workstation

Larger gifts can create a new Children’s Room, Literacy Center, or Reading Lounge.