How You Can Help The Essex Library

In this economic downturn, we know you value the Essex Library’s services and programs more than ever. 
As of December 1, 2008, about 75% of the town’s population owned our free Library cards.  Thousands of
items are borrowed from our collection each month.  Since July, 2008, more than 2,000 people have attended
our free adult and children’s programs.  Our patrons also make heavy use of many other free services we
provide including: a professional reference staff and research resources; a high speed WiFi connection; a
collection of over 30,000 items that is supplemented by 3,000,000 other items through our Inter-Library Loan
service; use of our Community and 1889 Rooms to work, learn and gather in; and much, much more. 

Like many of your own savings accounts recently, our endowment has also suffered losses. The Essex Library
Association is facing a serious revenue shortfall for this fiscal year which runs through June, 2009.  To cope,
we have cut our materials budget to the bone, reduced staff hours and curtailed our hours of operation.  Even
though we’ve taken these drastic measures, we still need your help.  Without it, we may be forced to make
even deeper cuts that will affect programs, materials and even the number of days we can stay open. 

There are a variety of ways you can help the Library right now--in addition to making your generous membership
contribution.  A $15 donation to our “Adopt A Book” program, for example, ensures that you will be the first
one to check out a popular fiction or non-fiction book that we would like to add to our collection.   If you
receive a bestseller as a gift this holiday season, why not donate it to the Library after you’ve read it?  If you have
DVDs, audio books or music CDs in good condition that you no longer want, we’d be happy to accept them, too. 
You can also sponsor one or more items from our Giving Tree, which range in price from $20 to $1,000.  Last,
but not least, we are always looking for volunteers who can give as little as an hour or two of their time per month. 
Your donation to the Library is an investment in our ability to continue to provide you and your family with the
level of service you have come to expect - and that our staff is proud to offer.

Gifts to the Essex Library are essential to our continued existence as we depend on private donations for more
than half our operating funds. Financial contributions can be made in many ways: through the Annual Fund, by
underwriting programs and events, through endowment giving, and with planned giving support including bequests.
And to all of our faithful contributors who have supported us through the years, a heartfelt Thank You!