By Michael Howell
Donna Bainbridge is the new President of the North Valley Public Library Foundation. She is excited about her new position and she’s coming into it with the skills, commitment and determination to match the job. She knows it won’t be easy and it will take some time, but her aim is to revive the NVPL Foundation. According to Bainbridge, the Foundation, which was formed in 2001, never really got off the ground.
“It just sort of languished,” she said.
Bainbridge’s involvement with the Library began as a volunteer. One thing she noticed was that the library building was inaccessible, in a number of ways, to people with disabilities, those using walking devices or wheelchairs, or even someone pushing a stroller. Many of the bookshelves were not accessible to these people. Having some experience with grant writing, she offered her services and wrote a successful grant.
“But a lot more improvements are really needed,” she said. She said the library is in the midst of some very needed and costly renovations and funding that has to be a top priority.
The library opened in 1904 in Town Hall and has been supported by a special levy since 1911. It moved to its current location when Ken and Norma Bangs sold the old Rasmussen Building to the library district for $1.
“Not only is it an historic building, but it is also the first independent library district to be formed in the state,” said Bainbridge.
She is obviously proud of the library district’s accomplishments, as well, as she enumerated the various in-house programs for children and adults as well as its outreach programs into daycares and the Senior Center. It offers a plethora of services including books, audio books and DVDs, photocopying, computer use and printing, a community bulletin board, a community room, magazines and newspapers, research databases, computer instruction, interlibrary loan service, art space, and access to WiFi.
It’s also a pretty busy place, serving from 200 to 300 patrons daily.
According to Bainbridge, the library district’s revenue projection for 2016 FY is $276,649 in tax revenue, $30,021 from the state and about $7,000 from patron charges for fines, fees and services.
But the district is also looking at a lot of expenses. Completion of the Children’s Room, which involves asbestos removal, replacement of ceiling tiles, carpeting, lights and insulation, is estimated to cost $18,389. Much of the same work is needed in the Community Room, at about the same cost. Renovations planned for in the main library space, including new shelving to make them accessible, is estimated at $60,000. Renovation of the entry vestibule will cost $7,685.
With all this work ahead, Bainbridge says the top priority for the Foundation is fundraising and she’s got her walking shoes on. If you run a business on Main Street, you will soon meet her. She’s articulate, she’s dedicated and she will be looking for your support for one of the North Valley’s most important institutions.
“We have a good Director very devoted to the library. We have a good Board of Trustees and a good Friends group,” said Bainbridge. “The Foundation is the last key to making all this work.”