Private funding (gifts from people like you) for public libraries is critically important.
Private funding of public libraries
- results in change, making possible experimentation, innovation, and adaptation of roles to changing needs;
- provides the margin of excellence that makes good libraries great libraries;
- provides the opportunity to leverage public dollars;
- spurs collaborations and partnerships; and
- creates a higher level of responsiveness to needs and opportunities.
Craig Buthod, Director of the Louisville Free Public Library, stated “donor dollars fund change.” He understands that private donors are “inspired by the chance to contribute to rapid improvements for the evolution of the library – not by filling gaps in government funding.”
Through private donations to the Library Foundation, the Louisville Free Public Library has been able to provide programs and services and to pursue capital projects that would not be possible otherwise. Private funding is responsible for
- the Iroquois Project, an outreach program targeted to the immigrant community in south Louisville;
- the Digital Media Initiative, providing the library with thousands of CDs, DVDs, and audiobooks;
- the Technology 2000 campaign, providing the library with hundreds of public-access computers, software, and electronic research tools;
- the Job Shop, offering a wide range of resources to help unemployed or under-employed people find work;
- the Summer Reading program, the library’s largest and longest-running program, reaching more than 50,000 annually;
- upgraded furnishings and technology for the new Newburg branch library;
- restoration and renovation of the historic Main Library, which made possible highly successful partnerships with JCPS adult education and the University of Louisville;
- scholarships for library employees; and
- supplemental funding for the cost of taking the GED.