Library raises money for new library space

Miriam Ostermann, Times Associate Editor

Improvements are underway at the Lambert Centre, yet fundraising efforts are far from over for the Strathmore Municipal Library board, whose creative juices continue to flow with new initiatives being introduced over the Strathmore Stampede Heritage Days weekend to raise thousands of dollars.
As nearly all the library’s capital reserve funds, combined with a donation from the Town of Strathmore – totalling $700,000 – were contributed to the restoration of the building, the library is actively raising money to furnish the facility with the necessary bells and whistles.
The board hopes to raise between $100,000 to $250,000 to equip the library with furniture for the children and teenager area, to purchase some new shelving, to aid in the creation of an art gallery, to fund cabinetry, a fireplace and rugs.
By buying raffle tickets, purchasing mini donuts or having their name displayed on a three foot by 32-foot-long mural, the community can have a hand in guaranteeing for the vision for the library to become a reality.
“The $700,000 is going to make the library beautiful, and it’s going to put new flooring in the library and new paint on the wall, so it’s going to renovate that space so that it works for what we need. But if we want that new shelving in the kids’ area or that art gallery in the lobby, all of that costs extra money,” said Carmen Erison, assistant director of library services with the Strathmore Municipal Library.
“The main sponsorship opportunities that we are looking at for Heritage Days is going to be for the general public and businesses to make their mark in the Strathmore library.”
Projections for the renovated library show an empty space above the new proposed computer area. To recognize donors, library staff is already working on the design of a mural, which will be a picture hung in that space. On the image, three shelves will stretch the 32-foot length, displaying names of individuals, families, businesses and community groups that provided monetary donations, on either the spines of the books, a flower pot or a small critter. While various ideas had been discussed, including a book sculpture and a tree in the children’s area where names would be written on the leaves, the mural will fill the empty space and act as a beautiful piece of art for patrons to enjoy. The mural will have book spines two inches by six inches tall that can be purchased for $50, with a seven-and-a-half long spine costing $100, and a nine-inch spine totaling $150. Donations can be made up to $1,000 which could result in a small critter – such as a library mouse – with the name displayed on its shirt. Overall, the library hopes to raise $60,000 with the mural alone.
As windows will remain scarce in the new library space, the mural will also include three or four painted windows with different sceneries that are always available as sponsorship opportunities. Furthermore, the library has seven areas that can also be sponsored as well as sections within those areas: the children’s area, the teenagers’ area, the art gallery, the fireplace, the water bottle filling station, the small meeting room and the large meeting room.
The library has also enlisted Marlene Risdon as fundraising coordinator, who – with years of fundraising experience and having grown up in the area – understands the importance of the library’s presence in the community.
“We wanted something that’s different than bricks on a wall; this is a library so let’s do the books, sponsor a spine,” Risdon said. “There are so many different projects with the library now. A lot of people don’t realize that. The library is not just about books any longer.”
Having sold 53 boxes of Fantasy Mini Donuts in the past, the initiative is being reintroduced for a second time with orders being taken between Aug. 3 and Aug. 24. Individuals can visit the booth at the Strathmore Stampede, where a raffle will also be set up with prizes, including a quilt and pieces of art – a partnership with the Strathmore Municipal Library and Wheatland Society of Arts. Despite a proposed date at the end of October to open the library’s doors at the Lambert Centre, Erison stated that fundraising efforts will be ongoing.
For more information and ordering mini donuts, visit www.strathmorelibrary.ca/donuts.