| Thank You! The Friends of Chapel Hill Public Library raised $16,000 with its summer fundraising campaign, Diverse Books for a Diverse Community. Thank you for helping us exceed our goal of $15,000 for this important initiative! This campaign is now closed and all new donations will be used to provide ongoing support for Library collections, programs and services. |
Diverse Books for a Diverse Community
About the Campaign The Friends of Chapel Hill Public Library raised $16,000 with its summer fundraising campaign, Diverse Books for a Diverse Community. The proceeds from this initiative - which ran through Labor Day - will be used by the Library to increase the diversity of its collections, especially for children. The types of materials the Library will purchase with these funds include:
Last year, the Library began a diversity audit of its collections and like many other libraries that have done this work, staff found that our library’s collections are not as reflective of the diversity within our community or our world as they would like. While the Library’s annual budget from the town of Chapel Hill enables some steps in this area, the money raised during this campaign allows the library to take a big leap forward and continue its commitment to truly being a place for everyone. | Campaign Events
Saturday, June 12 Saturday, July 17 Saturday, August 21 |
Friends will “pop up” on the Library Plaza between 10:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. three Saturdays this summer. We’ll have examples of the types of materials this campaign will support. Everyone who donates at these pop ups will be able to choose a like-new book to take home.About Diverse Books
We are inspired by We Need Diverse Books, a national organization that “strives to create a world in which all children can see themselves in the pages of a book.” The group’s definition of diversity reflects ours, recognizing “all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, Native, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities.” We are also inspired by the work of Ohio State University professor emerita Rudine Sims Bishop, who wrote about the impact of books and the power of reading. Bishop said that books can be windows that offer a view into the lives of people who are different from us and that books can be mirrors that reflect and affirm our own lived experiences. Friends president Karen Curtin summed it up in the most recent issue of the Friends newsletter: “Readers of all ages - especially children - deserve to have books on the shelves that reflect their lived experiences. And readers of all ages - especially children - need to have books on the shelves that allow them to understand the lived experiences of others.” |
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