MCPL campaign nears final goal

Children, balloon animals and carnival games filled the Monroe County Public Library on Tuesday in honor of another successful year for its summer reading program.

Though this party was for the kids, the library might soon have its own reason for celebration: The Friends of the Library are about $3,600 away from meeting their Campaign for Excellence fundraising goal.

The fundraising effort is the first time the library has asked for private support from individual donors.

It was created earlier this year in response to rising costs, MCPL director Sara Laughlin said.

“The library’s needs are increasing, but funding is getting tighter,” she said. “We’re feeling pressure from the economic downturn.”

After consulting with financial experts in the community, the nonprofit organization Friends of the Library took on the challenge of orchestrating the campaign.

The group already raises approximately $100,000 annually through its bookstore but hopes to raise an additional — and much needed — $25,000 through the new campaign, Friends co-chair Becky Hrisomalos said.

“Costs always go up, but tax rates don’t always do the same,” she said. “We don’t want to cut things. This campaign is for the whole city and its children. My own children became the adults they are because of the library, and we want everyone to have that opportunity.”

Laughlin said contributors have three options when donating. Donations can go primarily toward funding immediate needs of the library’s children’s programs, be placed in the children’s programs endowment for future use or be used wherever the library needs it most.

The third and most popular option allows the money to be used to support many of the library’s other services, such as the bookmobile, programs for helping adults learn to read and community outreach.

“It really is limitless on how much help the library can give the community,” Hrisomalos said.

Even so, the money raised through the campaign would primarily go to support the children’s programs, which Laughlin describes as “the library’s bread-and-butter service.”

The children’s programs offered by the library include after-school homework help, puppet shows and the popular summer reading program, as well as the program’s annual end-of-summer carnival.

Four thousand summer reading guides were printed at the start of the summer, Laughlin said. By July, every copy had been picked up.

“The program is a tremendous amount of fun, but it also has a deeper educational service,” Laughlin said. “Kids who do not have access to books over the summer can lose up to two months of progress. That really adds up over time.”

Bloomington resident Shelly Scott-Harmon and her 5-year-old son Aidan said they regularly take part in the services the library offers, including Tuesday’s carnival.
“I’m full of praise for the library and its children’s programs,” Scott-Harmon said. “They really do a great job.”

Aidan agreed, adding that his favorite parts of the library are its “books and movies.”

Library administrators and members of Friends of the Library predict that the $25,000 goal will be reached by the summer’s end, but Hrisomalos said she hopes the campaign will also serve as one of awareness.

“I hope even more people start coming down and having a look,” Hrisomalos said. “The library is just a wonderful, beautiful jewel in our community.”