Library receives gift from Petersburg Community Foundation

The Petersburg Community Foundation recently presented the library with a $5,000  discretionary grant to support the construction of the new library.  Their contribution will be recognized with a plaque in the new library by the drinking fountain. Their donation, along with the many others that have been received, is an essential piece of the overall funding plan for the new library. We’re very excited about the PCF’s contribution as both the library and the PCF are devoted to improving the lives of people in our community.

Mindy Anderson, Ann Hurt, Carey Case, Marlene Cushing, Sue McCallum, Tara Alcock and Dan Sullivan — 2012 PCF grantee organization representatives

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Petersburg’s Purple Librarian honored

Petersburg's 'Purple Librarian' Ruth Sandvik

Ask about Ruth Sandvik in Petersburg and people smile as they share stories of the librarian adorned in purple, who played music in the library and let children read under the tables. A graduate of Reed College, Ruth came to Petersburg in 1941 and began teaching at Petersburg Schools.  After taking time off to raise a family with her husband Oscar Sandvik, Ruth returned to Petersburg High School with a Masters Degree in Library Science from The University of Portland, as Petersburg’s first trained librarian.  She educated the staff and students  K-12 in the importance of reading and research and has been known for generations by her trademark, the purple librarian. “In library school, they told me to pick something out that made me distinctive,” Ruth explains, “so I decided to be the Purple Librarian.”   Active in our local arts world and always working to improve both public and school library services, Ruth is a living example of civic involvement and a prime builder of the community library system we all enjoy today.  Her 70 years of efforts to make library services relevant and universally available is a record unrivaled.

Thanks to a generous contribution from the Sandvik family a meeting room in the new library will be named in honor of Ruth and her remarkable library legacy in Petersburg.

Ruth Sandvik & Sue Paulsen with the Library Bill of Rights

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New library capital campaign gaining momentum!

As of Feb 1, 2012, 217 individuals, businesses and organizations have pledged $338,783 to the new Petersburg Library!

Make your tax deductible donation today…

• In person at the library
• By mail – Please use our donation form
• Online – We can accept your credit card donation online at the Alaska Community Foundation’s secure online giving site. When asked “Please apply my gift to” be sure to select “Petersburg Public Library Fund”.

Questions? Call the library at (907) 772-3349 or email us at library@ci.petersburg.ak.us

Details about the new library’s FISHING WALL and the many naming opportunities available can be found on the capital campaign pledge form

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Pick. Click. Give. to the new library

Qualified Alaskans, who fill out their annual PFD applications online from January 1 through March 31, now have the chance to support nonprofit causes by designating a portion or all of their PFD go to the list added to the application form.

The PFD Pick. Click. Give program is an easy way for residents to show their support for the new Petersburg Public Library. It’s a safe and secure way to make your donation and share the bounty we all gather from our PFDs. Every dollar and every ounce of support matters so much to getting our Library completed.  Make you contribution by choosing “The Friends of Petersburg’s Libraries” when you file your PFD application.

For more information on the Pick. Click. Give, go to: www.pickclickgive.org

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Rasmuson Foundation awards $500K ‘top off’ grant for new library

Alaska’s Rasmuson Foundation has awarded the City of Peters burg with a ‘top-off’ grant for up to $500,000 for the new library.   This ‘top-off’ grant relies on the community committing an additional $1.5M to the project by the end of 2011.

$5.27M (cash and in-kind) has been raised towards the fundraising goal of $6.78M for the new library. $1.5M still needs to be secured for the project to be fully funded.   Petersburg residents will have the opportunity to vote on a $1.5M bond on October 4, 2011 that would complete the funding for the new library.

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Reserve your spot now on the new library’s FISHING WALL!

The new library capital campaign committee has  launched Petersburg’s version of ‘buy a brick’ in the new library……Drop by the Saturday Market on Saturday (ANB Hall, 10am-1pm) in August to be among the first to reserve your spot on the new library’s Fishing Wall!

Can’t make it to the market? Drop by the library or click here: http://www.psglib.org/pledge%20form%2001.2011.pdf to print out a form.

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An important gift to the community

The Eldor and Polly Lee family have given an important gift to the community which commemorates the hundredth anniversary of Petersburg next year. They have donated the property on Hammer Slough where Eldor was born to the City for the Public Library, which will be called “Centennial Park”. This property is right below the proposed site for the new Petersburg library, and will create a park and trail to the Slough below. It extends the footprint of the library property, and the value of this land donation can be calculated in when foundations formulate matching grants. This is an invaluable step towards realizing the goal of a new library.

~excerpt from a speech given by Julie Hursey, Library Board President, at the May 18th, 2009 Little Norway Pageant

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Local Masons present a major gift to new library project

On January 3 Gerald Lind, Dale Bosworth, and Ed Sarff from Petersburg’s Masonic Lodge presented Library Board president Julie Hursey with a $25,000 donation towards the new library. We are excited about their generous contribution and for their recognition of the value of a new library for our community!  Learn more about donating to the library

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Petersburg Public Library Endowment Fund

Public funding supports libraries, but it is often private donations that allow them to flourish! Learn more about the newly established Petersburg Public Library Foundation that was established not only to collect funds for the new library, but as a long term investment in the future of our library. It will help us establish a solid foundation for the library  in difficult times, help us maintain excellent services, and create an even better public library for the future of Petersburg.

The endowment fund can accept gifts of cash, securities or stock, real estate, personal property, bequests, life insurance, retirement accounts or pension plans. Learn more here or contact Tara Alcock at (907) 772-3349 for more details.

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First online donation received for the new library!

For over a year the library has been quietly collecting donations for our building project. To make it even easier to give we’ve set up an online donation site:

If  you prefer to pay with cash or check, donations can be dropped off at the library or sent to:

Friends of Petersburg’s Libraries,
Attention: New library fund
PO Box 549
Petersburg, Alaska 99833

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