Most (if not all) of you know about the recent devastating floods in Colorado. If you’re looking for a way to help out, sending a few dollars toward affected libraries is a great way to help vital community organizations rebuild so they can continue to provide information during a time when community members need resources on rebuilding (and recreational material when they need a break from recovery efforts). As an added bonus, donating directly to the library means more of your money is going to meet those needs, rather than being filtered through a third-party organization that may take out a portion of your donation to cover their overhead.
These posts are probably starting to look familiar (I’ve written posts raising money for libraries after other disasters in the past), but this one hits especially close to home since, well, Boulder is my hometown. I was devastated to see the flooding in the town I love and the damage to so many places I care about, and this is a great way to give back to an amazing community that is home to so many wonderful people.
I’m working on compiling a list of libraries that have been impacted by the floods and could use help rebuilding. So far, the list is small, but if you know of a library that has been flooded and is accepting donations, please let me know in the comments so I can add it to the list! To everyone else, please donate what you can to the libraries on the list below. Every dollar helps!!
Boulder Public Library, Reynolds Branch: This branch of my hometown library is closed until November due to flood damage. Katherine, one of the friendly folks on their reference staff, said that donations can be sent through the Boulder Library Foundation site (this branch is actually the closest branch to the neighborhood I grew up in, so by helping them out you’re doing a favor for me and for my old neighbors as well as the library!)
Lyons Public Library: I emailed them earlier today as well, but given the extent of devastation here I’m not placing any expectation on when they will be able to respond. You can fill out their donation form using this link to donate to the Friends of the Library. (Note: I put a link for an online donation page earlier, and looked more closely later and found it was for an Illinois library. I’m sure they still appreciate the donations, although they aren’t anywhere near the flooded area!)
Julia C. Skinner 