Library Support

There are many ways you can support your library. Just by using the library and telling your friends how much you enjoy library programs and services, you support us. The more voices we have in the community telling friends about our programs, the more opportunities that arise for us to serve and to provide responsive programs that will serve the changing needs of the community.

In addition, there are numerous opportunities to be directly involved in the library. These range from simply donating books to the Friends of the Benicia Library to giving funds through a bequest or contribution to the Library Foundation to volunteering time in the library. We appreciate the tremendous help of this community and of the many different types of support that you give to your library.

Public Government Funds

Library funding comes primarily from four sources. The Library is a department of the City of Benicia, and most of this principal funding is spent on books, staff and operational expenses. The library also receives grants from the State of California and private organizations to provide enhanced services for special programs. Interlibrary loan funds support resource sharing between libraries, and Measure L monies promote additional staffing and services offered by the library.

As you can probably imagine, many services and programs receive assistance from three valuable support groups.

Friends of the Benicia Library

They have monthly book sales to raise money. The Friends annually donate approximately $50,000 to the library, and these funds are used for:

• Events held at the Library:
• The Summer Reading Programs
• Funding for special projects and/or for special equipment.
• Teen volunteer services

Benicia Library Foundation

This is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to raise money to help with capital improvements for the Benicia Public Library. This non-profit organization was started in 2005 and is currently developing programs for ongoing fundraising in the community.

Volunteers

They help the library by providing services throughout the library. Some of the jobs the volunteers do are:

• Checking the shelves to make sure books are where they belong
• Processing and mending books
• Inputting data into the Obituary Database and helping maintain statistical information
• Volunteering to tutor for the Adult Literacy & English as a Second Language (ESL) program

For more information on any of these programs or opportunities, please contact Fran, at 707-746-4355

updated 07/2021