CHAT News File Photo

By Chris Brown

Library Giving Day

Community donations fund extra enhancements for libraries

Apr 6, 2022 | 4:52 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Libraries around the world are marking Library Giving Day this week but when you’re talking about our library, every day is giving day.

Seattle Public Library started Library Giving Day in 2019, intended as a day for libraries to rally around and that the public could embrace.

Ken Feser of the Medicine Hat Public Library says even though they didn’t plan anything to mark the day this year it’s good to remind people what libraries can do with a little extra cash.

“We’ve been buying lots of display furniture local, created new a display collection in the library and we were able to get that made by a local cabinet maker and pay for that with donations,” says the chief librarian. “So the donations let us do things that aren’t part of our regular day-to-day stuff and I should say too that all donations, we don’t spend donations on, you know, keeping the lights on or paying our staff. It’s all for extra permanent enhancement that we wouldn’t do otherwise.”

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Feser says they’ve had great levels of donations over the past two years.

The library has had overwhelming success with its sponsored memberships, which allows generous donors to sponsor library cards for the community, and it’s likely that library cards will remain free for all of 2022. McBride’s Bakery recently held a doughnut fundraiser for the library which raised more than $4,000, believed to be the largest single-day total the bakery has had with its doughnut fundraisers.

Feser says there’s also been a really high number of small donations from $50-$500 given by individual people.

The library’s goal is to be the heart of the community, a place that connects Hatters to each other and to the community.

“When people make donations for us it’s an affirmation that yes we are doing things that people value and we are seen as being a useful positive force in the community,” Feser says.

Redcliff Public Library also strives to be a community hub, and donations there go toward those little extras as well.

“When we receive donations it just, in turn, gets put right back into the community with all the services we offer,” says manager Tracy Laturnus.

Those services include printing for people, public access computers and programming for different ages.