Seattle Public Library - Libraries for All, Capital Plan, Private Sector Role

Private
Sector Role
and
Commitment

Libraries for All
Proposed
1998 Capital Plan
for the
Seattle Public Library

Submitted March 13, 1998

The Seattle Public Library Foundation is a 501c(3) organization incorporated exclusively to "provide for services and facilities over and above what the traditional tax-base funding of Seattle Public Library has provided but not to provide funds which can be substituted for the traditional tax-base funding." Since its inception in 1980, it has raised money for special programs, projects, equipment and collection needs that exceed the capacity of the library's traditional tax base. In recent years, the Foundation has raised more than $1,000,000 a year for special programs and projects.

It is clear that 1998 may be the year that the citizens of our community decide to give themselves a great new library system, one designed for the challenges and opportunities of the next century. This new library system will feature a network of expanded and enhanced Neighborhood Libraries anchored by a superb new Central Library. These facilities must offer outstanding collections of books and materials and ready access to the world of information available through cyberspace. Recognizing the magnitude of the commitment being asked of the citizens of Seattle, the private sector can be expected to play a significant role in enhancing and supplementing the public's tax-based support.

To that end, the Seattle Public Library Foundation commits itself to the following goals:

An unconditional pledge to raise $15 million over the next 10 years for the revitalization and enhancement of the Library's collections system-wide and upgrading of technology. Three million dollars of this goal has already been raised.
A pledge to raise $25 million over the next five years toward the total cost of the proposed capital plan, effective upon the approval of "Libraries for All" or a comparable library bond measure by the voters of Seattle.

On March 11, 1998, the Board of the Seattle Public Library Foundation voted unanimously to adopt this $40 million goal. This vote reflects the confidence of the Foundation in the leadership of the Seattle Public Library as well as the Foundation's own commitment to play a strong role in building a first-class library system for all of the people of Seattle.