The Library Times
Autumn at the Dunsmuir Library
How We’re Keeping the Doors Open
Due to a lack fo funding from the county, keeping the library doors open has become the responsibility of each local community. Here in Dunsmuir we have patched together multiple funding sources to provide the services the community expects from us.
Donations from library supporters are an important part of this effort. We also rely on grants from the city, money raised during our semi-annual open houses, and just recently a grant from the Ford Family Foundation.
Facing a $10,700 projected deficit this year, we applied for a grant to cover it from the Ford Family Foundation. We also asked for the money needed to replace our three aging public computers. We were denied the money to cover the deficit, but we did receive the funds to buy the new computers.
Fortunately the city stepped in recently with a $23,500 grant that will cover the deficit and help us get part way into the next year. But with annual $45,000 budget we will need addtional sources of revenue.
Stacy Michaelsen of the local company Pusher, Inc. is donating her time to work with Friends Of The Library board member Kevin Tynsky to facilitate online donations from library supporters. They are also developing a library website.
Our semi-annual open houses help raise funds through raffle ticket sales, and we also have income from the library’s bookstore and online sales through Alibris Books. You can be part of this effort to keep the library’s doors open by renewing your membership in the Friends Of The Library.
-Tim Holt
The Avenue Bookstore has lots of books for sale for fundraising.
Did you know?
The services our Dunsmuir Library provides go well beyond books, magazines and newspapers. We have a summer reading program for school-age children and our Voices in The Canyon speaker’s series. Our library manager, Karen O’Quinn, provides help in writing resumes and searching out job opportunities.
The Dunsmuir Library Book Club meets the last Wednesday of every month. Some examples of Book Club choices are The Great Alone and The Women, both by Kristen Hannah, and The Art of Inheriting Secrets by Barbara O’Neal. The conversation is lively and enjoyable as participants share their opinions of the books and authors.
Using your library card, you can stream Kanopy movies and television shows for free. Libby is a new library reading app, loved by millions of readers worldwide. For more information on how to access these programs, open our Siskiyou County Library catalog and follow the prompts.
A Bit of History
Dunsmuir has had a library since 1890, when Southern Pacific railroad workers maintained their own library and reading room called the Southern Pacific Club Room. In 1917, the library became a branch of the Siskiyou County Library System. In 1977, the library moved to its present location on Dunsmuir Avenue.
The selection of railroad books to check out at the Dunsmuir Library