Friends of the Westhampton (MA) Public Library
BackgroundThe small town of Westhampton, Massachusetts (population approx. 1700) secured a grant of nearly $1.1 million from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners to purchase the historic Parsonage building in the center of town and convert it into a modern, accessible library. The new library would replace the well-used but inefficient and outdate space of the current library, preserve approximately two acres of open space behind the Parsonage for public use, and permit the existing library space to be used for much-needed town office space.
To receive the million-dollar grant, the town needed to finance approximately $700,000 of the project. Raising property taxes to cover this expense just wasn’t going to work – and the Friends of the Westhampton Memorial Library knew they were working against the clock. The state could release funds at anytime; the town’s portion had to be in-hand for the grant to be administered. The fund raising effort for what became known as The Town Center Library Project required creativity and determination. Among a series of innovative fundraising events planned for 2006, 2007 and 2008 was unique pair of community-building festivals: Read-Around-the-Clock and Lounging for Literacy.
Event SummaryRead-Around-the-Clock was a 24-hour read-a-thon planned by the Friends of the Westhampton Memorial Library. Forty-eight townspeople of all ages, both Friends members and other avid Westhampton readers took turns reading in a screened tent positioned just behind the future library. Each reader signed up for a half-hour session in the tent and read aloud to seniors, children, early-morning walkers and runners, and anyone else who turned up to witness the public readings. In homes all over town, scores of additional readers turned pages with their family and friends, another way townspeople could participate. Readers sought pledges from family and friends using a pledge kit designed and produced by the Friends. All over town, residents read for some part of the 24-hour marathon – Harry Potter, suspense novels, town history, and The New York Times Book Review were among readers’ selections. Westhampton residents kept the reading going for 24 hours, from the afternoon of June 8 to the afternoon of June 9 – just in time for the start of the weekend’s second book celebration, Lounging for Literacy.
Lounging for Literacy gave Westhampton residents and friends another reason to read together. This community festival promoted literacy and demonstrated the community’s majority-support of The Town Center Library Project. It aimed to set a world record – organizers intended for it to be the world’s largest gathering of people in one location, reading books while lounging in lawn chairs. While the Guinness Book of World Records inexplicably does not include such a category, the hundreds of Westhampton neighbors and friends of Libraries near and far who gathered that day certainly could attest to the size and spirit of the gathering. Some readers dressed as their favorite book characters, one wore a straw hat covered in tiny volumes of favorite books, and some set up elaborate lounging areas for themselves and their neighbors. A newspaper photographer climbed into a cherry-picker to document the event. Together, everyone raised their books and cheered in celebration of this record-breaking and community-building day of reading with neighbors and friends. And then they got back to their books.
Planning & ImplementationA subset of the small Friends of the Westhampton Memorial Library organization planned, publicized, and carried out these successful events. A committee planned programs for families, including storytelling, a community supper, a bonfire with support from the Westhampton Volunteer Fire Department, and a sing-along led by the town’s many guitar pickers and singers. Another group of Friends created pledge forms and sample letters, customized for adults and children, to encourage long-distance Read-Around-the-Clock pledges and donations from relatives and friends.
To generate awareness of and excitement about the events, the Friends issued a press release, followed up by contacting regional print and broadcast media outlets; communicated with The Guinness Book of World Records; designed promotional materials; and delivered posters and flyers to businesses, schools, and libraries across the region. They also spread the word via the town’s newsletter and the Friends’ own web site, designed and maintained by a member of the group. Local restaurants, businesses, farming families, and many residents showed their support by donating refreshments, tents, straw bales for seating, wood for the bonfire, a public-address system, and all other materials that made the day a success.
Individuals took on the task of securing door prizes and raffle donations – well-known authors and illustrators Eric Carle, Mordecai Gerstein, and Jacqueline Sheehan, all local residents, contributed their works or offered in-person readings to support the events. Local bookshops and learning stores donated gift certificates and prizes.
In short, both Read-Around-the-Clock and Lounging for Literacy truly were planned on a shoestring budget – all donations received from participants of both events went straight to The Town Center Library Project.
EvaluationPledges and donations related to Read-Around-the-Clock and Lounging for Literacy amounted to more than $14,000. Inspired by these events and other unique community fundraising events for The Town Center Library Project, an anonymous donor later came forth with a $150,000 matching gift to acknowledge the community’s commitment to the new library. This tremendous gift kept the fundraising momentum going.
In addition to those measurable results, the two events and related public relations efforts built significant awareness of the Friends’ fundraising campaign among Westhampton residents, readers, and library-lovers from around the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners recognized the events in its newsletter, circulated statewide, and several other libraries – including the Seattle Public Library – have contacted the Friends of the Westhampton Memorial Library so they can emulate the events in their own cities and towns. The Friends group is now working with a pro-bono attorney to trademark the Read-Around-the-Clock and Lounging for Literacy names so the concepts may be shared with other libraries and Friends groups without losing the connection to the events’ Westhampton beginnings.
At the time the Baker & Taylor application was submitted in May 2008, the group was just $260,000 from its goal of raising approximately $700,000. Inspired by the community spirit and donations raised by Read-Around-the-Clock and Lounging for Literacy, the Friends of the Westhampton Memorial Library are planning additional creative and innovative fundraising festivals in 2008.