Looking for a way to give back to libraries for everything they've done for you? Donate to these library-focused crowdfunding campaigns in honor of National Library Week, and generate some good — and bookish! — karma.
National Library Week is an annual celebration of libraries and library services, held every April, and sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA). The theme for National Library Week 2017 is "Libraries Transform."
Across the country, funding for public and school libraries has become a go-to source for budget cuts, and a recent budget proposal from the Trump administration eliminates federal library funding of all kinds. Not only does library access improve academic achievement, but libraries also:
[help] veterans transitioning to civilian life, small businesses seeking to expand their business online, [and provide] summer reading programs, resources for blind and hearing-impaired patrons, resume writing and job skills workshops and computer coding courses to teach youth 21st century job skills.
Because libraries are so underfunded — and may soon become unfunded entirely — many librarians, educators, and library-lovers have taken to crowdsourcing the funds for repairs, additions, collections, and other projects. The 15 library-focused crowdfunding campaigns listed below represent communities in four countries and 10 states, but that's just a tiny percentage of the libraries in need around the world.
Check out the campaigns below, and spread the word about libraries in need on social media for Take Action for Libraries Day.
1
Organized Library = Used Library
Location: Brock Bridge Elementary School in Laurel, MD
Funding Goal: $1,271
Percent Funded: 0 percent
Campaign Ends: July 12
First-grade teacher Emily Urps started her Organized Library = Used Library campaign to purchase a storage cart, listening center, and books for her classroom library at Brock Bridge Elementary School.
2
Help Rebuild a Library in Haiti
Location: Bibliotheque du Soleil in Carrefour-Feuilles, Haiti
Funding Goal: $50,000
Percent Funded: 6 percent
Campaign Started: Oct. 21, 2016
In 2010, the Bibliotheque du Soleil in Carrefour-Feuilles, Haiti was damaged in a massive earthquake. An effort five years in the making, Help Rebuild a Library in Haiti wants to reconstruct the community library and bring its services back to the Haitian commune.
3
Comfortable in the Library
Location: Valley View Elementary School in Toppenish, WA
Funding Goal: $353
Percent Funded: 10 percent
Campaign Ends: June 27
The students at Valley View Elementary School love their library, but they need good seating options to really enjoy their time there. The Comfortable in the Library campaign seeks to purchase seven beanbag chairs for the school library. A second campaign, I'd Rather Read the Book, is aimed at purchasing TV tie-in books for students to enjoy.
4
Rainelle Public Library Relief Fund
Location: Rainelle Public Library in Rainelle, WV
Funding Goal: $20,000
Percent Funded: 61 percent
Campaign Started: June 29, 2016
Rainelle, WV flooded last summer, leaving its public library devoid of a collection and in need of serious repairs. To help reopen this small-town public library, you can donate to the Rainelle Public Library Relief Fund.
5
An Empty Library?!?!
Location: Arrowhead Elementary School in San Bernardino, CA
Funding Goal: $254
Percent Funded: 8 percent
Campaign Ends: July 9
Arrowhead Elementary School has An Empty Library?!?! Yes, it does. The selection is very small and very old, and the students would benefit immensely from receiving books from the Pete the Cat and I Can Read All the Time series.
6
Library of Dreams (La Biblioteca de los Sueños)
Location: Library of Dreams in San Jacinto, El Salvador
Funding Goal: $5,000
Percent Funded: 33 percent
Campaign Started: Feb. 22
Opened in November 2016, the Library of Dreams needs funds to buy a bus and snacks for the schoolchildren who use it, and to secure a salary for its librarian and honorariums for its visiting readers and performers.
7
Literacy Library
Location: Carney Nadeau Public School in Carney, MI
Funding Goal: $410
Percent Funded: 0 percent
Campaign Ends: Aug. 2
Students in this 9th-grade English classroom have a free reading period every Friday, but their book collection is out-of-date. The Literacy Library campaign wants to buy books the students want to read, such as Call It Courage and Tell the Wolves I'm Home.
8
Enchanted Forest Library
Location: Meijer Trail in Muskegon, MI
Funding Goal: $30,000
Percent Funded: 14 percent
Campaign Started: Mar. 25
The Enchanted Forest Library will add a book-roofed reading and reflection spot to Muskegon, MI's Meijer Trail, "[i]n honor of Mrs. Cheryl Steinberg’s contributions to Reeths-Puffer Schools and Community."
9
Classroom Library
Location: Lalor Elementary School in Hamilton, NJ
Funding Goal: $994
Percent Funded: 18 percent
Campaign Ends: May 31
A 5th-grade classroom at Hamilton, NJ's Lalor Elementary School needs a Classroom Library to serve as an enticing, comfortable location for reading and group work.
10
Little Free Libraries!
Location: Willoughby-Eastlake communities in Eastlake, OH
Funding Goal: $5,000
Percent Funded: 13 percent
Campaign Started: Nov. 16, 2016
The nonprofit organization supporting the Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library wants its community to have Little Free Libraries! The $5,000 goal will build six of the trendy book spots, and any excess will be used to add additional Little Free Libraries to the plan.
11
Skyrocketing Library!
Location: Cumberland Elementary School in Nashville, TN
Funding Goal: $242
Percent Funded: 0 percent
Campaign Ends: Aug. 8
The students in one 3rd-grade classroom in Nashville have seen their reading aptitude soar this year, and that's why they need a Skyrocketing Library! This campaign will help to purchase advanced-level reading materials for these awesome students.
12
Karengera Community Library
Location: Karengera Community Library in Karengera, Rwanda
Funding Goal: $5,000
Percent Funded: 59 percent
Campaign Started: Dec. 21, 2016
The Karengera Community Library serves students from eight local schools, and it needs help shipping 500 pounds of books from the U.S. to Rwanda.
13
Library Center
Location: Sequoyah Elementary School in Oklahoma City, OK
Funding Goal: $971
Percent Funded: 0 percent
Campaign Ends: May 5
The Library Center in this Pre-K classroom needs materials to help its students become able readers. Donations will go toward the purchase of a flannel board, listening center, and more!
14
The Henry Miller Library Closed!?
Location: Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, CA
Funding Goal: $50,000
Percent Funded: 70 percent
Campaign Started: Apr. 2
After natural disasters left the Henry Miller Library destroyed, but it's already reopened in a new location. Donations to one campaign, The Henry Miller Library Closed!?, will offset the cost of the move.
15
STEAM Library!!
Location: Mary Ann Binford Elementary School of Albuquerque, NM
Funding Goal: $437
Percent Funded: 0 percent
Campaign Ends: June 12
A 4th-grade classroom in New Mexico is getting a STEAM Library!! — with your help, of course. Help these youngsters discover their love of science, mathematics, and design by donating to this campaign.
