HOW TO DONATE
WHAT: Friends of Oxford Lane Library Campaign
COST: Engraved bricks, to be installed at the new library site, are available to donors who make a gift of $100 or more to the Friends of Oxford Lane Library's Brick Fund. For a $500 gift a donor can purchase one of several planters to be placed in the garden. The bricks and planters can be engraved to commemorate the donor or a loved one with name, tributes, special occasions or lasting words.
TO CONTRIBUTE: Email oxfordlibraryfriends@gmail.com for more information and contribution forms
Construction is already underway on the new local branch of the Lane Library, but there is still a limited time for residents to put their mark on the facility.
The Friends of the Oxford Lane Library will accept donations until Dec. 31 to help pay for amenities planned at the site, but Friends president Robert Johnson cautions that is a hard deadline. That is a date built into construction plans to finalize those amenities in order to get needed purchases made and finalized into construction documents.
“ As of Dec. 3, we have sold 143 bricks and 10 planters,” Johnson said, emphasizing they have surpassed the original goal set for the project. More gifts, however, will enable the Friends to make a bigger donation to the project, he said.
“We initially identified $20,000 already under control of the Friends and we decided to raise another $20,000 selling bricks.”
He said that total now stands at $21,128.56, putting the effort over the $40,000 mark.
The new library will have a Reading Garden, which will be a place for reflection, meditation or quiet reading and will have Wi-Fi access.
Engraved bricks, to be installed at the new library site, are available to donors who make a gift of $100 or more to the Friends of Oxford Lane Library’s Brick Fund. For a $500 gift a donor can purchase one of several planters to be placed in the garden. The bricks and planters can be engraved to commemorate the donor or a loved one with name, tributes, special occasions or lasting words.
All gifts to the Friends of Oxford Lane Library Campaign will enhance the Library’s holdings and offerings and provide for amenities not covered in the basic construction budget, Johnson said. Gifts are tax-deductible.
There will be approximately 500 bricks in the garden area; each brick available for purchase for $100 and engraved with three lines of text (13 characters per line).
There will also be several planters in the garden that can be similarly personalized for a contribution of $500.
Oxford Lane Library patrons were given a presentation on the new library on April 10.
“It was an exciting evening as those in attendance were able to see architectural drawings and presentations of the striking exterior, the expanded Smith Library for Regional History, the dedicated teen area, the drive-through book deposit and pick up window and the attractive reading garden,” noted a letter about the plans by Friends campaign chairs, Robert and Marilyn Johnson, Laura Cohen and Jennifer Natale. “The new library will be approximately twice the size of the present library, and the new site offers plenty of easily accessible parking.”
That fund letter was targeted at Friends of the Oxford Lane Library supporters, Robert Johnson said.
The letter also highlighted the highly interactive children’s section, which is expected to be particularly attractive to families with young children. Three learning sites will allow children to appreciate the unique qualities of the Oxford area.
One learning section will focus on Oxford’s uptown; a second will feature the university, and a third will present the farm and country area of our community. The latter will have a potting shed/barn that will house the puppet theatre. The plans include interactive activity panels that will make coming to the library a fun and entertaining learning experience.
Johnson emphasized that they still welcome donations for bricks and planters but donations of any size will be welcomed in the campaign.
“All contributions are welcome and will help us make the new Oxford Lane Library one of the best libraries in the state,” the letter concluded.
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