Sponsor a book, go to the head of the line

posted 06/09/03
Did you know that the San Juan Island Library subscribes to 138 weekly and monthly periodicals, as well as 14 newspapers? How is this possible for a public library serving an island of less than 7000 residents?

The answer is that an individual, a club, or a business sponsors many of our magazines. This means that they pay for the library's subscription to that magazine, making it available to everyone in the community. When the subscription comes due, we send out a letter asking the sponsor if they wish to continue their sponsorship for another year. If so, they send or bring in a check to cover the library's cost. If not, we make a decision at that point whether or not the library will continue the subscription without sponsorship.

Do you love kayaking? Maybe you'd like to make sure we carry Sea Kayaker. What about Fine Homebuilding or the Seattle Weekly? While it's unlikely that we'll cancel Time or the Journal, specialty publications can become an optional expense as budgets become tighter as the result of Initiative 747. We currently have 82 unsponsored titles, ranging in price from Family Fun at $7.50 per year to ValueLine Investment Survey at $798.00. Most monthlys are in the $15 to $35 range.

If you aren't a magazine reader, another option is to sponsor an author. These individuals agree to purchase a copy of each book published by a particular author, at the library's discounted price. In exchange, the sponsor gets first dibs on reading the book, even if there's a long waiting list.

Most people in the program sponsor titles or authors that reflect their personal taste. Because I think it's important to put my money where my mouth is, I personally sponsor both Book Magazine and the author Laurie R. King - demonstrating my love of reading fiction. If you would like more information on the library's sponsorship programs, please call me or Beth at 360.378.2798, e-mail me at lstara@sjlib.org, or stop by the library!

Lauren Stara
Director, San Juan Island Library
phone number 360.378.2798
e-mail lstara@sjlib.org

news @sanjuanislander.com

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Sponsor a book, go to the head of the line