Bucks for Books Campaign
The vast majority of funding for library collections comes from donors. Our goal is to raise $160,000 for the Ashe County Public Library Endowment over the next three years. Our community's belief in our mission helped us build and furnish our beautiful library 15 years ago, and we are counting on that same level of commitment to make sure our library remains a place to find books that edify, entertain, and educate our community.
Ensuring a sustainable future for Ashe County Public Library
Families, business owners, students, and individuals at every stage of life rely on the library’s physical and digital collections. While books and other forms of media have become increasingly accessible, the cost of a robust home library remains a luxury for many. The public library proudly bridges this gap, providing access to thousands of physical items and millions of digital ones for anyone who needs them.
In 2009, shortly before the Ashe County Public Library Endowment was formed, then-librarian Jim McQueen noted that the Endowment would “provide a desperately needed supplement to the library’s current sources of funding for books, audiobooks, magazines, DVDs, and other materials.” Nearly fifteen years later, these words ring truer than ever as we now rely on donors for the majority of funding for library collections. While a donation to the library helps to buy books and other items now, a donation to the library’s Endowment through the Bucks for Books campaign will help provide them to the community for generations to come.
Our goal is to raise $160,000 for the Endowment over the next three years. Our community’s belief in our mission helped us build and furnish our beautiful library 15 years ago, and we are counting on that same level of commitment to make sure our library remains a place to find books that edify, entertain, and educate our community.
Why our library matters
Providing books and other materials remains at the heart of the library’s mission, but our library is also a third place, neither work nor home, that encourages people to exchange ideas, find a moment of respite, and build relationships.
The library welcomes everyone and provides access to a lifetime of learning free of charge.
Library materials are available to everyone in our community, and as people discover the wealth of materials in our collection, they also come to recognize the value of library staff. Job seekers, older adults with technology questions, students of art and culture, and readers of all ages find connection and assistance in our library.
The library helps raise a new generation of readers.
Our library has the capacity to help every child in our community learn to love books and reading. In addition to making good use of library collections, families with young children experience our library as a place to have fun, encounter learning opportunities, make friends, and build connections to the community.
The library is a trusted source of information.
Library staff help patrons navigate an increasingly complex world of online information. They connect patrons to the resources they need in order to gain digital literacy, find jobs, advance in school, research health issues or resolve a business dilemma.
Investing in the library's future through the Endowment
State aid to North Carolina libraries and county tax dollars cover basic library operations such as maintaining buildings and staff salaries, while the Friends of the Library, the Endowment, and direct donations to the library provide funding for programs, technology, and library materials. If we reach our goal of raising $160,000 for the Endowment by the end of 2026, disbursements from the Endowment will fund up to 50% of the purchase of library materials, thereby providing a measure of stability for long term collection management while also allowing us to increase our investment in these other areas.
You can help
If you believe that everyone should have access to books, movies, and other media, please support the Bucks for Books campaign to raise $160,000 for the Ashe County Public Library Endowment. Your support ensures we can continue to give the gift of reading to our community for generations to come.
- Checks may be mailed to Ashe County Public Library, ATTN: Friends of the Library, 148 Library Rd., West Jefferson, NC 28694. Please make checks payable to Friends of the Ashe County Public Library with "Bucks for Books" in the memo line.
- Donate online
Download the Case for Support
Read more about the Bucks for Books campaign by downloading our Case for Support.