Jessica Leader » Blog Archive » Join the Library-Lovin’ Blog Challenge

Join the Library-Lovin’ Blog Challenge

Posted in Libraries, Promotion of Self and Others on 03/06/2010 06:58 pm by jess

Welcome to the library-loving blog challenge!

Whether you’re a bookstore lover or a library devotee, chances are that your local library is doing something awesome right now.

They may be finding a book that your non-reading child will actually like. They may be helping someone use the internet to look for jobs, or trying their dangedest to find the name of the book that you only remember as, “Oh, it had a pink cover, it maybe it was blue, and it had the word ‘girl’ in the title. It came out last year, or maybe the year before…” They may even, if you beg the right way, be forgiving your library fines.

I don’t know what I’d do without the dedicated and hospitable staff at the Louisville Free Public Library. It must be an effort for them to smile when they see me coming, because I always ask them to pull so many books for me from around the city. But they are always well-informed and kind, even though they’ve had a horrible year.

In August, a flash flood that covered the city in two feet of water—the city! Not the country! We have regular city streets!—ruined the sorting and storages facilities at the main branch. Many people pitched in for the recovery effort, but the library is still in need of funds. The picture below is from the week of the flood. Imagine already struggling with funding your multi-service operation and coming in to find this in your basement. (The truck is the Bookmobile, drowned.)

Here’s where you and I come in: I joined writer Jennifer Hubbard’s Library-Loving Blog Challenge. For every commenter on this post between now and April 6, 2010, 12:00 pm, I will donate 50 cents to the Louisville Free Public Library, up to an amount of $40.

How easy could it be? You comment, I proudly find two quarters, and the library gets a gift. If you don’t know what to say in your comment, “I love libraries” will do.

Note that my pledge is “per commenter,” so if a single person leaves 50 comments, that still only counts once. But you can do more by spreading the word. Please link to this post, tweet about it, and send your friends here so they can comment and raise more money.

If you’re moved to make a flat-fee donation to your library, or to start your own challenge, you are quite welcome, and please leave that information in the comments.

For a complete list of participating bloggers (and to visit other sites where you can help libraries just by leaving a comment!) visit the writerjenn blog at http://writerjenn.livejournal.com/

Thanks for joining! I look forward to seeing comments in the name of library love.

Tags: Libraries, Library-Lovin' Blog Challenge, Louisville Free Public Library

37 Comments

Betty
03/07/2010 at 6:11 pm

I just welcomed myself to my new neighborhood library by renting the Sex and the City movie… for free! I do love libraries.

Jenn Hubbard
03/24/2010 at 4:50 pm

Thanks for joining in! Your link is posted now.

Erin S.
03/24/2010 at 5:07 pm

Yay libraries! Thank you for your support.

Janet Fox
03/24/2010 at 6:49 pm

Go, Jess!! Come visit me and we’ll double it! 🙂

http://www.kidswriterjfox.blogspot.com

Janet Fox
03/24/2010 at 6:51 pm

Yay Jess! Come visit me, too! hugs – Janet

Shira
03/24/2010 at 7:40 pm

Poor drowned bookmobile! I hope they’ve at least somewhat recovered. I can’t imagine what that must’ve been like. When you say, regarding the librarians, “I always ask them to pull so many books for me from around the city” I wonder what goes into that – it sounds like an intensive manual process, very different (at least from what I picture) goes on in my large metropolitan library, which is also having it’s own money woes, but gives the impression of having bought some very helpful technology before funding ebbed.

Carol J. Garvin
03/24/2010 at 8:24 pm

I think this was a great idea! Thanks for participating. The libraries and literacy groups who benefit from the challenge will appreciate the extra funding.