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'Net Wish Lists Help Libraries Get Books

Posted on: Sunday, 25 May 2003, 06:00 CDT

By JENNIFER COLEMAN

Associated Press -- Facing possible layoffs, shortened hours and cuts that would slash their $1.2 million book budget by a third, the staff at the Oakland Public Library in California tried a new twist on philanthropy.

They posted a list of books they would buy if they could on Amazon.com, the online bookseller. The response was overwhelming.

"The UPS man gets out and he has Amazon.com book mailers piled so high you can't see his head," said Leslie Rodd, Oakland's administrative librarian. "It's really a thrill."

More than 300 libraries nationwide have now sought out donors online the way the Oakland library did. Burlingame, about 25 miles south of Oakland, made an online list after losing 2,500 titles earlier this year when its library flooded.

"We put close to 400 books on the list, and we've received about 200 as gifts," said Alfred Escoffier, the city librarian. "It was immediate and it was amazing."

Other charities have also turned to Amazon.com lists, said Michael Hyman, the company's director of community and gifting. Habitat for Humanity chapters list tools they need, and a number of youth centers list games and toys.

For the donors, "It means they're giving something a bit more personal," Hyman said.

While librarians are welcome the new books, but some fear relying on donations could erode government support for libraries, said Mitch Freedman, president of the American Library Association.

As a "cornerstone of our democracy," Freedman said, free library access "shouldn't be funded by gifts and donations." But he said the need is so great that "standing on principle isn't going to help the situation."

California Gov. Gray Davis proposed cutting libraries' funds from $31.5 million this year to about $1 million next year to help shore up a $38 billion state budget shortfall. About $15 million was restored by the Legislature, but could be cut before the budget is final, said Michael Dillon, lobbyist for California's public libraries.

California libraries get about 10 percent of their funds from state government, Dillon said. The rest comes from county and city governments, which are also facing financial problems.

Funds are so tight that many libraries are facing possible layoffs or even closures. That's why Pamela Ribon, the author of the book "Why Girls Are Weird," asked her readers to help the Oakland libraries.

In three weeks, the library received more than 420 books from readers of www.pamie.com. "Her readers responded from all over the country. We got donations from Japan, Canada, Ireland," Rodd said.

The attention from Ribon's readers also spilled over to the Ellison Public Library in Scandinavia, Wis., population 349. In the last two weeks, director Dorothy Youngblood has received donations from five strangers who saw her list while searching for the Oakland library's.

"It's amazing the commitment people have to libraries," Youngblood said.

Many libraries with online wish lists use them to plan future orders, not solicit donations. In Castle Rock, Wash., library director Vicki Selander created a list of books to order once she had the money.

To her surprise, she received two boxes of books in the mail Wednesday. "It was everything on my wish list," she said. "I was so stunned and thrilled."

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On the Net:

Oakland Public Library

The American Library Association

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