NB 640
July 3, 2001
FREDERICTON (CNB) - The provincial government will open up its cheque book to put more books on the shelves of public libraries, Education Minister Elvy Robichaud announced today.
Robichaud said the government will invest $200,000 over the next two years to develop fund-raising expertise in support of the public library system. The investment will be used to hire an executive director to carry out fundraising on behalf of the New Brunswick Public Libraries Foundation.
"Volunteer members on the foundation identified the need for a full-time staff member to raise funds in support of the public library system," Robichaud said. "As a government, we agree this is the right investment if we are to significantly increase donations in support of the purchase of books for our public libraries."
Advertising for the position of executive director will begin this month.
The New Brunswick Public Libraries Foundation was established in 1997 to receive donations and raise funds for the development of public libraries' collections. The provincial government committed a total of $100,000 annually to match donations brought in by the foundation.
Robichaud acknowledged the task has been more difficult than expected, in large part due to the lack of resources available to the volunteer board.
A professional fundraising firm hired to assess the fund-raising potential of the foundation concluded that significant money is available if a major fund-raising campaign is launched with appropriate support and infrastructure. That will be the role of the executive director, said Robichaud.
He said the government will invest $100,000 in 2001-2002 to hire the executive director and cover other expenses related to fund-raising activities. A similar amount has been committed for 2002-2003. After that, the foundation should be self-sufficient in its needs. It is expected the investment will generate a return of $1.85 million in support of public libraries over five years.
The province has reiterated its commitment to provide up to $100,000 annually, beginning in 2003-2004, to match funds raised by the foundation.
Robichaud said the government is intent on improving the level of spending on library collections, which is currently below the national average. This year, the Department of Education budgeted $10.3 million for public libraries, an increase of $850,000, or more than eight per cent.
In addition to investing $200,000 to develop fundraising expertise on behalf of the libraries, the government has also released an additional $100,000 that had been set aside to match funds raised by the foundation but went unspent due to a lack of donations. The money will be used for the purchase of books for the public library system.
01/07/03
MEDIA CONTACTS: Sylvie Nadeau, Executive Director, N.B. Public Library Service, 506-453-2354; Steven Benteau, communications, Department of Education, 506-444-4714.
01/07/03