In Maine, libraries donated all fines, printing fees, and loose cash donations collected during Maine Libraries Week, January 9–15, to give to the UNICEF Tsunami Relief Fund. The idea is credited to Camden Public Library Director Elizabeth Moran, who sent out a press release asking all Maine libraries to participate. York Public Library waited until January 20 to make sure the effort was publicized, Assistant Library Director Sudie Blanchard said in the January 28 Portsmouth (N.H.) Herald.
In Colorado, more than a dozen public libraries are participating in a similar drive January 24–30 to deliver fine collections and other donations to the American Red Cross. Ralph Rulo, a facilities maintenance technician for the Douglas County Libraries in Castle Rock, thought up the plan, and Director Jamie LaRue liked the suggestion so much that he appealed to libraries across the state to join in the effort. A week’s worth of fine collections in Douglas County alone brings in about $2,600.
“This loss of life, home, necessities of life, not to mention the devastation of libraries, is sweeping and tragic,” Colorado State Librarian Nancy Bolt said in the January 24 Aspen Times. “Even at a time when many Colorado libraries are facing their own shortfalls, this is a way to show our support for other people of the world who are even worse off.”
Posted January 28, 2005.