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Library committees seek county commitment
By Carey King
Members of the two committees charged by county commissioners last fall with planning fund-raising and design for a new public library want to know how much money they have to work with.
“The primary thing we need to know from (county commissioners) is their commitment,” fund-raising committee co-chairman Steve Moss said at a meeting March 22.
A final dollar figure for library construction and furnishings has yet to be determined, pending decisions on how the structure will be designed. Current estimates are in the ballpark of $5 million.
Before launching a fund-raising campaign or settling on architectural plans, committee members say they need to know the amount commissioners will contribute – both to the final library and to expenditures incurred by the committees along the way.
Those committee costs include travel expenses when members visit area libraries to gather ideas, the price of photocopying and campaign letterhead, and funds to bring in consultants.
The Jackson County Library Board oversees the two committees, and its chairman, Howard Allman, said he’s been told several different figures for the amount commissioners will give the committees to spend.
“(The money) was gone, then we were told it was $50,000, and now it’s $44,000,” Allman said.
Committee members have submitted a proposed committee budget to county leaders and plan to attend commissioners’ April 4 meeting.
Beyond establishing the funds at the committees’ disposal, members said securing a figure for what commissioners plan to spend on the final library project is essential to launching a fund-raising campaign.
Such campaigns generally occur in a four-step process that begins with government funds, then is followed by major private donations, grants and community participation, said fund-raising committee co-chairman Mary Selzer.
Corporate donors and grant-making organizations rarely contribute without a government commitment, said Selzer, also president of Jackson County Friends of the Library.
“The keystone in this case is of course the county,” she said.
Fund-raising committee members met March 16 with Sue LeLievre, a regional associate for the N.C. Community Foundation, to determine other available dollars.
The Foundation is managing two funds for the future library – the first an endowment begun in 1996 by the Friends of the Library, and the second a gift fund established last fall by librarian Michael Cartwright.
The endowment now totals $33,000, with 5 percent available annually for use by the public library.
The gift fund, made up of checks Cartwright received for the new library, now holds about $300. All of that money may be taken out and used, LeLievre said.
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