Community library in Berkeley hopes for charitable support (From Gazette Series)
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Berkeley's community volunteer library Berkeley Books hopes for charitable support
1:00pm Sunday 27th January 2013 in News By Lucy Fulford
BERKELEY’S community library is hoping employers might consider supporting them financially this year.
The volunteer-run library re-opened last November when the Berkeley Community Library Committee took over the premises from the county council.
Berkeley Books has been awarded charitable status, and the committee hoping that this will enable them to gain financial support to add new books to the collection.
The Fundraising Committee explained: "Making sure that books are right up to date and best selling authors latest creations are available to lend has to be at the heart of a successful modern library and to enable that to happen we need to raise funds."
"Wherever you work or go to school or college, whether it be in Berkeley, Bristol, Gloucester, Stroud, Yate, Wotton or even London, please approach your employer or organisation and tell them about your community library and how the whole community is gathering round to support it and ask them to make it their charity of choice for 2013."
Email margarettayler@btinternet.com for more information.
johannaa123 says...
9:20am Mon 28 Jan 13
"Making sure that books are right up to date and best selling authors latest creations are available to lend has to be at the heart of a successful modern library and to enable that to happen we need to raise funds" Libraries are about more than having the best sellers on the shelves.
A service that is supposed to be a statutory service by law is being forced to ask people to donate money to them. The library should be properly funded and run by the authority.
As established charities are struggling at the moment, that they have to compete even more because services that should be public services are forced into the sector, will make things even harder for them. Charity should be directed to causes that are not statutory and where people really do need the help rather than on propping up services we pay our taxes for but are not getting.
Gloucestershire County Council should hang their heads