How are you VOLUNTEERING right now?

[iris lily]

I don't come from a family that promotes volunteerism, so this is new to my household.

My wife and I are in the research phase of developing a plan to open a library in our little walkable town.  We are learning about local and national foundations that promote literacy and culture. We want it to be walkable, with possibly a community garden, a coffee shop, and VERY kid friendly. Thinking about having a tool lending library as well.

It's all a dream for now, but I think can do it on a 2-3 year plan.


JGS

How is the library funded beyond building it? How is it managed?  Is there a tax initiative involved?

We would like capital expenditures and start up costs to be fully funded by private foundations. We will not request funding from local government. Preferably, we will reserve additional funding for ongoing yearly expenditures (5% rule, anyone?) with fundraising drives yearly from the main beneficiaries of the library. By my math, about 2.5 million could lead to a basic barebones library in our HCOL location.

So many questions, but primarily: why is your governmental entity not providing library service? Are you really envisioning small, stand alone public library that is not part of a library system? I didn’t think those existed any more.

A very basic question is: do you have access to library service at all right now? What state are you in?

There are plenty of libraries we can reach, they are just not in our town.

Our concept is to develop the library first, and then plug it in to the library system after. Otherwise the library system itself will put roadblock after roadblock after roadblock to prevent the development of this stand alone library (ask me how I know -impression is that they are protecting their local regional turf and are concerned long term about their own funding being compromised).

I don’t see how you can “plug” it into the system without establishing a tax supported funding base for your little branch. Of course no system will take on the large expenses of running another location without means from that community, why should they?

This very much looks like a cart before the horse effort, but whatever. Good luck with it. At minimum at least, get a professional library consultant to help you design the building.

[MonkeyJenga]

@JGS1980 what about starting with a Little Free Library? Can start building a series of them, maybe creating little walking path maps for them, that take you by existing gardens and coffee shops. Maybe team up with some of those places to offer little prizes for a LFL scavenger hunt?

A tool lending library could also be started on a small scale, then gauge interest to see if it's worth expanding. Could be LFL size (protected somehow) for small tools. Or even a very first step of an online group like Buy Nothing where people can offer what tools they have to borrow.

Small starts would be much faster to set up, and they can build a network and enthusiasm around larger efforts in the future.

[JGS1980]

Yup, starting small.

Lilly, Er... thanks for the input but no, we aren’t creating a long term financial albatross for our community because we are not idiots. We don’t want or expect it to be tax supported at all ( much like our own budgets).

We will either do it right and be fully funded before we start, or not do it at all.

[Dicey]

I don't come from a family that promotes volunteerism, so this is new to my household.

My wife and I are in the research phase of developing a plan to open a library in our little walkable town.  We are learning about local and national foundations that promote literacy and culture. We want it to be walkable, with possibly a community garden, a coffee shop, and VERY kid friendly. Thinking about having a tool lending library as well.

It's all a dream for now, but I think can do it on a 2-3 year plan.


JGS

How is the library funded beyond building it? How is it managed?  Is there a tax initiative involved?

We would like capital expenditures and start up costs to be fully funded by private foundations. We will not request funding from local government. Preferably, we will reserve additional funding for ongoing yearly expenditures (5% rule, anyone?) with fundraising drives yearly from the main beneficiaries of the library. By my math, about 2.5 million could lead to a basic barebones library in our HCOL location.

So many questions, but primarily: why is your governmental entity not providing library service? Are you really envisioning small, stand alone public library that is not part of a library system? I didn’t think those existed any more.

A very basic question is: do you have access to library service at all right now? What state are you in?

There are plenty of libraries we can reach, they are just not in our town.

Our concept is to develop the library first, and then plug it in to the library system after. Otherwise the library system itself will put roadblock after roadblock after roadblock to prevent the development of this stand alone library (ask me how I know -impression is that they are protecting their local regional turf and are concerned long term about their own funding being compromised).

If the library you envision isn't ADA compliant, among a long list of other requirements, they're not going to touch it. In my county, they're trying to foist their old, poorly maintained buildings off on the cities.  Thanks to pandemic-related holes in their budgets, the cities are telling the county to pound sand..

[Glenstache]

a private party contacted me for consulting services at a location that was literally on my commute to my office (on the few days I go there now). It was a very small job that only took an hour, and something that most qualified people would not take on due to the small scope. I told them my hourly rate and agreed to show up and do a quick consult on their issues and then had them make a charitable contribution to the neighborhood food bank (which needs it) in lieu of payment. This allowed me to leverage my time much more than I would have otherwise. It also made all parties involved happy with the outcome. It was a bit of a one-off opportunity, but reminded me to keep my eyes open for ways to leverage situations other than just direct hours and dollars. 

[iris lily]

Yup, starting small.

Lilly, Er... thanks for the input but no, we aren’t creating a long term financial albatross for our community because we are not idiots. We don’t want or expect it to be tax supported at all ( much like our own budgets).

We will either do it right and be fully funded before we start, or not do it at all.

Well,  it’s an interesting experiment, so good luck. I don’t know of any privately funded public libraries  that exist in modern times which is not to say they don’t, it’s just that it’s pretty unusual. The building is only part of gearing up to give library service.

Privately funded fee-based public libraries were the thing 140 years ago. The fees kept the unwashed public out 😁 and insured a user base that was properly respectful toward erudite endeavors.

[Trudie]

I find so much to be utterly stressed and depressed about with Covid, my governor’s inept response (Iowa), and national politics.  One of the few things that gives me a sense of control and contentment  is to try to do something each day for someone else.

Sometimes this means putting food, or seed packets, or personal care items in the Little Free Pantry outside my church.

Yesterday a church friend and I took pastries to our local hospital that were shared with staff in the Covid medical unit and pulmonary ICU.  (We had called ahead.). We got thank you pictures from our masked heroes last night.  It made my 2020.  Not gonna lie.

I set out extra produce I’ve grown in our condo’s community room.  People make free will donations and I give the money the the local free meal site.

I’m on an outdoor garden crew at our local public garden, usually a couple of times a month.

I’m writing letters of support to people and causes I care about.  I’m trying to raise money for the local arts.  I’m trying to do my part so that life after Covid is recognizable.

[amberfocus]

We volunteer as foster care providers for the local humane society. We've been doing this for two years, but it has turned out to be an extremely social distance-friendly volunteer activity. With increased time at home, we have been able to dedicate more time and attention to our fosters. This past week, we accepted an assignment of a pregnant cat, and have been on constant kitten watch ever since. :) The last pregnant cat that we fostered (pre-pandemic) gave birth on a weekday while we were both away at work. This time, we have a fighting chance of being there for it, which is wonderful.

[Poundwise]

The national events have been so discouraging that I have been trying to step up volunteering... it helps me manage my anxiety.

I have been sewing about 50 cloth masks a week, and I recruited friends and family to help too.  Altogether, our group has produced and given away over 16,000 masks to first responders and at-risk populations like the homeless, families of inmates, the ill, and the elderly.

Yesterday our church also packed lunches, toiletry kits, and masks for the homeless. The kids helped.

On the subject of homeless laundry, @Kris, as an experiment we bought those single-serve laundry detergent pods to give away. While we don't give cash, I do know that this will reduce the cost of laundry considerably.  Will let you know how it was received.

 

[KathrinS]

I've been volunteer visiting an old lady living alone for over three years now. At the start of the pandemic, this morphed to phone calls and weekly food drops, but now we're doing socially distanced and masked chats again. She is unable to get out due to a large number of health concerns, so she's literally stuck in her one-bedroom flat all day, every day, and company is very important to her.

Other than that, I've just signed up to weeding someone's garden next weekend.

[PoutineLover]

I started volunteering to bring groceries to elderly low-income people for the past few months. I call them to get their lists, go shopping and use a coupon from the charity to pay. Then I bring them the food and we chat a little, they don't leave the house much so it's nice.
I also volunteer a lot at my sports club, but that's not necessarily helping people, just keeping it going.

[Dicey]

Let's see...my favorite thrift store reopened, but fewer than 50% of the volunteer staff returned. In response, the store is only open 4 hours a day, five days a week. Typically, I work there twice a month, but I've been filling in about once per week. It's good to be back.

On the local political scene, I'm in the middle of a huge "Walk & Drop" campaign in support of three candidates for City Council. In this pandemic election cycle, we are not bothering with voter lists, we're dropping literature at every single home. It's easier and faster. Boy, I am getting a lot of steps in. It's a good way to burn off the Covid "19" I gained early on. Nine down, ten to go...

And all that walking we did for the census made the candidate walking more organized and accurate than ever. Nice.