In this month’s newsletter: We celebrate 50 years of support for the Boulder Public Library; We summarize what our donors supported this year, and what’s on tap for 2025; We bring you the KGNU interview with Bonnie Garmus, recorded live at our gala; We outline all the promises that our new Library District has delivered this year; We share the story of a gift memorializing a BoulderReads! tutor; We catch you up on all the library news you may have missed.
See below for a message from our Executive Director and Board President and view the full November newsletter here!
Dear Library Enthusiast –
Fifty years ago, our community cheered the grand opening of the glass-walled bridge that connected our original Main Library to a new children’s section on the south side of Boulder Creek.
That same year, the Boulder Library Foundation opened its doors and began organizing a tradition of charitable support.
As we mark our 50th anniversary, we stand with you, on a bridge between our library’s past and future. Since 1974, we’ve raised and granted more than $10 million. These grants have built maker spaces and playgrounds. They’ve helped thousands of adults learn to read and speak English. They’ve preserved our town’s history. And they’ve helped low-income families navigate the pandemic with free WiFi hotspots.
They’ve helped elementary students like Olivia Kim, a Reading Buddies participant, write wonderful children’s books in English, despite speaking mainly Korean at home.
Looking out across the creek, we’re amazed at all we’ve done. But there’s more we want to do for the people of Boulder — there’s more that our friends and neighbors deserve — than we have the funds for. That’s where the Boulder Library Foundation comes in.
Programs like Reading Buddies are the heartbeat of today’s Boulder Public Library. They are part of a broader Literacy and Outreach strategy that’s helping our library meaningfully advance its mission of connecting people, ideas and information to transform lives and strengthen our community. The library needs you, our supporters, to help them act on it.
Our library has asked the foundation to raise more than $250,000 this fall to help support an expansion of literacy, outreach, arts and cultural programming. Please help us build this bridge to our library’s future. Join our cause or renew your commitment with your generous donation today.
Sincerely,
Chris Barge, Executive Director
Kitty L. deKieffer, Board President
