A library for the next 50 years: join the Club!

A SHOUT OUT TO THE COMMUNITY!

A library for the next 50 years: join the Club

by Sandra Figueiredo

Hello, Fort Bragg Library fans!

The generosity and hard work of the library users and supporters have kept the Fort Bragg Library alive and thriving since its founding in 1912. Friends of the Fort Bragg Library have steered our branch through difficult and prosperous times. Their latest measure of support was the purchase of property next door to the current library.

Expanding the current library on the corner of Laurel and Whipple streets is a visionary move by forward-looking people. The adjacent playground, park and Veterans Hall make this neighborhood location an attractive hub for all to gather. The library is within walking distance or a short drive from Fort Bragg schools. Families from Elk to Leggett, as well as tourists enjoying the beauty of the Mendocino Coast, like the library’s central location.

We invite you to join the Library Expansion Project as a member of our $1000 Club. Do you run a local business? Consider donating as a business to improve the amenities on the Coast. Are you part of a group of 10 friends? Go together at $100 each and donate $1000 as a team!

Take your donation to the Fort Bragg Library at 499 E. Laurel St. or mail to Friends of the Library at P.O. Box 2718, Fort Bragg, CA 95437. You can also donate through Paypal at fortbragglibrary.org/library-expansion. The Friends will provide a letter for your tax deductible donations. Questions? Please call the Fort Bragg Library at 707-964-2020.$1000 Club

Construction costs, from labor to materials, are on the rise, so it’s important to build now. The need is great. The monthly “gate count” exceeds 10,000 visitors — demonstrating buy-in from communities near and far, but crowding the books and people who come to visit. A full-sized library (12,000 to 15,000 square feet) would meet needs of coastal residents for the next 50-plus years while offering a children’s learning space, teen-friendly studio, quiet reading room, collaborative study space, lifelong learning center with recent technology, local history showcase, community hall and enclosed patio and cafe with open sky and green walls. Solar panels will power it all and pay back your tax dollars!

Now is the time to jump on board and be a part of our library’s new growth. I challenge you to join me in the $1000 Club to expand the Fort Bragg Library.

Also — join the $1000 Club and send a “Shout Out” to your friends to get others to join! Please consider submitting a picture related to your “Shout Out” to be published in our local newspaper.