Swarthmore Public Library seeks dust-gathering treasures
To the Community,
As Director of the Swarthmore Public Library, I want to thank our community for its patience and support over the past seven months. We are all looking forward to when we can return to some normalcy, but in the meantime, your notes of encouragement, excitement to use the library, and masked smiles have brightened our days and helped us muddle through the major shift in our day-to-day work.
As you know, the pandemic has affected library operations. It has also negatively impacted our revenue. For example, the Friends of the Swarthmore Public Library, a nonprofit group which fundraises on our behalf, and which annually supplies 20-25% of our budget, has had to cancel their popular book and bake sales. As a result, we are again asking for your help and support.
This fundraising group has been diligently seeking safe and productive new means to restore the loss of revenue from the missed book and bake sales. Its members are currently organizing an online auction, to be managed by Briggs Auction, set to take place in January 2021. They will be actively gathering donated items for the sale through November 24.
To make the auction a success, the Friends of the Swarthmore Public Library needs to collect approximately 200 items. They currently have around 100. This auction will truly reflect the complex and varied personality of our community. Thus far the community has donated lovely fine jewelry, a 1940s toy train set, vintage clothing, two dress military swords, Tiffany sterling-silver flatware, musical instruments, rare books, Civil War memorabilia, Swarthmore memorabilia, paintings, vintage dolls and toys, candelabra, and old tools, among other items. We would love more of all these items, plus mid-century modern furniture, signed pottery, or any other treasure you are willing to share.
To help us now, we ask if you could look through any items that you may, until now, have considered too valuable to part with — but that are gathering dust in drawers and closets. Please consider donating them to the auction. And if you could also share this message with several friends, your effort will go a very long way towards making this fundraiser a success.
To choose a time to deliver a donation, please go to our online Sign Up Genius page: swat.ink/Rob-appt. Or, if the item is too large for you to easily deliver, please email a photo of it to Friends of the Swarthmore Public Library at foswpl@gmail.com, along with any questions you may have.
With great appreciation,
Amber Osborne
Director, Swarthmore Public Library
