Ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to put this as simply as I can: there are simply some things in this world that are worth saving. Everyone has their own personal “precious” that they like to drag out on occasion as their favorite pet cause; whether it’s save the whales or plant a tree or stem cell research or save the animals, they’re all worthy causes and worthy of our notice simply because they mean something to those talking about them. I’m going to ask your indulgence today because my favorite cause is in dire need of help.
I’d like to talk to you today about Cleveland Library.
In the interest of full disclosure, I need to mention that I am the volunteer Marketing Director for this charity and that all of our charitable solicitation licensing etcetera is found at the bottom of our website, http://www.4042needs.org.
Cleveland Library was founded in August 2008 as an offshoot of Basic Needs Ministries. The Library was part of a list of services provided by the charity including a food pantry and clothes closet that were originally founded in 2003. Over the course of 2011 the other services were closed down due to lack of community support and Cleveland Library became the primary focus of the charity’s work.
Cleveland Library exists in its current form in a large warehouse space behind Peddler’s Village in the Cleveland Township area of Johnston County, North Carolina. As an unincorporated township, Cleveland residents are legally considered to be either part of the Clayton or Garner population. The ten mile service area for Cleveland Library consists of 165,000 residents, which is slightly larger than the last official census numbers for the Cary, NC city limits. There are over 180,000 books located on the library property, with over 26,000 in the Children’s Area alone. The Library provides a host of services from free internet access with Wi-Fi to free movie rentals and even the See Spot Read Program, which allows younger children to read to a therapy dog to practice their skills at reading aloud with judgment. Cleveland Library even has a full adult fiction section in a separate book mobile which can serve as a mobile library if the need were to arise.
Right now, Cleveland Library is in significant need of help in two areas: volunteer support and financial support.
Let’s cover volunteer support first.
The library takes in an average of one to two hundred new donations of books on a weekly basis. Those books need to be received in, looked up for Dewey tagging, typed up, tagged, delivered to shelving, and shelved. These activities are usually accomplished by volunteers. Right now there are approximately 10,000+ books that are backlogged to be looked up. That backlog significantly hampers the remainder of the process, and that is not even taking into consideration the daily circulation shelving or the massive book moves that need to be accomplished to simply get everything that is ready to be shelved in its proper place. There is literally enough work for a small platoon of volunteers to work open to close on a daily basis for weeks to finally get caught the Library close to caught up. Where does this hurt the worst? On a given day there are usually two to four people on property working, one of whom is always our Director, Ron Still.
Now, on to the financial situation.
Cleveland Library is as transparent an operation for a charity as I have ever seen. Our income comes from three sources: yearly memberships, donations, and our Director’s pocket. Ron Still, our Director, is retired from the State of North Carolina and supplements any and all budgetary shortfalls directly from his pocket WITHOUT drawing any form of salary or stipend from the charity. At this time 100% of all income is going to attempt to keep the doors open, plain and simple. At this present time it takes approximately 120 paid yearly family memberships of $35 on a monthly basis to cover all of our operating expenses.
Simply put, Cleveland Library is running out of money in an urgent way and is looking at potentially ceasing operation within sixty days.
You now know the who, what, when, and where of Cleveland Library. It’s time to get down to the why.
Why is Cleveland Library important? Why is it worth saving? Why does this impact your life? Why should you care?
Cleveland Library is a private library, which means that since it does not receive any public or government funding it is not restricted by federal or state guidelines or mandates. The most important of these is in regards to lending practices. The average school library in North Carolina limits lending rights per child to 5 books per week (albeit with some grade level variations). Cleveland Library allows each card holder age five or older to check out 20 books at a time for a two week period. Another major advantage for Cleveland Library is the sheer size of its collection: over 180,000 books on property with more being received on a daily basis. The children’s section is now over 26,000 books and the Library even has its own portable library container which, although it houses the adult fiction section regularly, can be used as a mobile lending library if necessary. Some services that are on a charge basis in other libraries, such as DVD rentals and internet access, are also free of charge in Cleveland Library.
Cleveland Library needs your support. If you live in the local area (Garner, Clayton, Cleveland, Raleigh, etc.) feel free to give us a call at (919) 661-6565 or email us at clevelandlibrarymktg@gmail.com to learn how to become a volunteer or to make a donation. We have a donor information sheet readily available if you’d like information on becoming a library patron as well.
Thanks for listening kids. Like I said before, sometimes you just have to take a moment and give some spotlight to the things that you feel are important.
I’ll be back to my regularly scheduled ranting and raving tomorrow.
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