Hello,

Durham County Library is having quite a year! In greater numbers than ever, members of our community are coming to the library for services, programs and access to critical technology. Over this past year, library circulation is up almost 23% and visits to the library have increased 54%. This lets us know that the community values its library and that the library fills a need that cannot be met by any other organization.

Much like a public radio station, a good portion of the library’s budget comes from members of the community who give generously to help maintain the quality and variety of programs and services we provide to our community. I’m writing to let you know why your support is so important.

• Computer use at the library has increased 252%! In these tough economic times, many people are searching for new jobs and are working on building skills to prepare for new careers. One of the ways the library has addressed this increased demand for computer access and training is by introducing “roving computer classes.” The library has purchased ten laptop computers that can be used at any location or even offsite to teach computer classes and to bring technology to people who need it. 100% of this program is funded by the Durham Library Foundation with donations.

• Our Summer Reading Club enrolled a record breaking 12,597 children and teens this past year! This is a 17% increase over last year. Summer Reading Club is an important national program that motivates children to read during the school break. With fun activities and friendly competition, SRC – the most popular of all library programs – promotes reading to thousands of adults and children. This summer, the library circulated more than 150,000 books for children and teens, a great sign that our efforts to encourage literacy are making a difference. 40% of the funding for Summer Reading comes from grants made possible by donations to the Durham Library Foundation.
  
  

• More than 1,000 people have attended dynamic and thought-provoking humanities programs for adults this past year. These programs include the award winning “Poetry For Everyone,” which gave voice to our friends and neighbors; “The Financial Crisis: Causes, Aftershocks and Next Steps,” a timely discussion of the current economic crisis, presented by Campbell Harvey from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business; and the popular “Divining America” series, which brought scholars from around the Triangle to encourage us to learn, to think and to discuss religion from a historical perspective. For many of the people who attended these programs, this was their first experience with the library, and many returned for subsequent programs. The Durham Library Foundation funds more than 80% of the library’s adult humanities programming.

As you can see, without the support of our community, many of these programs and services would not exist at their current levels. The library plays such an important role in our lives. It is a welcoming gathering place; it nurtures our children with story-times and innovative programming; it is a place to find critical information when we need it along with books, DVDs, CDs and other materials that enrich our lives; and it makes technology available for job seekers, students and many who otherwise would have no access to computers and the Internet. These are tough times for all of us, but I am writing to ask that you support the library by making a donation to the Durham Library Foundation – because as the numbers above demonstrate, as the economy worsens, the need for the library only increases.

The Annual Fund provides flexible and immediate funding so that the Library can address current needs not met through the county budget process. Significant Annual Fund contributions will allow the Durham County Library to begin to enrich collections, upgrade technology and expand public programming as The Campaign works to build endowments to stabilize funding in these areas. These funds are also crucial to giving the Library the means to act quickly and creatively to meet emerging community needs and to take advantage of special opportunites.

All donors of $25 or more will receive or extend memberships in the Friends of the Durham Library. Make your gift online now! You can also use the downloadable gift form.

Sincerely,
Willis P. Whichard

The Durham Library Foundation develops and encourages the long-term financial health and growth of the Library through annual gifts, endowment and capital contributions.