In honour of National Library Worker Day on April 21st, 2020, the EveryLibrary Institute is proud to be working with hundreds of library supporters and leading library vendors to provide “cost of living grants” of up to $250 to qualified library workers, librarians, and staff from public, school, and academic libraries who have an urgent financial need. The EveryLibrary Institute is a national 501c3 non-profit with a mission to support the future of libraries and the role of librarians in society.
This campaign is called the Help a Library Worker Out Fund (or HALO Fund) and is a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to help support library workers, librarians, and staff who are facing unexpected financial difficulties because of the Coronavirus and resulting economic slowdown.
To date, the EveryLibrary Institute has raised over $15,000 and they’ve given away nearly $13,000 in grants to library workers in need. What defines that need will be identified by the individual but could include household expenses like groceries, child care, cell phone, internet, gas, insurance, and other bills. The application process is confidential and easy to complete. These grants to individuals and families are to be "unrestricted" and do not have a requirement to be paid back.
"This will help me cover the cost of my medications while my library is closed. I'm only part-time so I don't have insurance to help. - DB"
Who is eligible to receive a "Help a Library Worker Out" grant?
- Individual library workers, staff, or librarians who have lost wages because of a Coronavirus-related layoff.
- Library workers, staff, and librarians who's spouse, significant other, co-parent, or housemate has lost wages or a job because of a Coronavirus-related layoff or reduction in hours.
"This is groceries for my family until unemployment starts." - SC
As a national library 501c3 non-profit organization, the EveryLibrary Institute is in a unique position to quickly bring together donors from across the country and make grants to library workers who are part of the library family.
“It is important to come together now to help our colleagues in need. In fact, we’ve seen an amazing outpouring of support from our library supporters and especially our vendor and support organization community who have helped sponsor this program.” says John Chrastka, Executive Director of EveryLibrary.
Nine organizations and companies have made matching donations ranging from $250 to $1,500. These organizations include the Awesome Library Foundation who made the initial funding available and Urban Librarians Unite who helped with an early matching grant. Corporate donors include Gale, a Cengage company, EBSCO, Zoobean, Brainfuse, Pikinc, WT Cox, and the Quipu Group.
As Jack Rothstien, Director of Library Services at Brainfuse said, “At Brainfuse we’re aware of the impact that the COVID-19 required shutdown has had on the lives of librarians and staff who work diligently to provide support for their communities. As an expression of our support for these invaluable people, we feel privileged to be able to participate with EveryLibrary in providing support funding for those individuals currently facing economic hardship.”
Make a donation
Libraries are important because they offer the public free access to a wealth of accurate information, whether online, in print or in person. And library workers are more than just people who check out your books. Library workers, including librarians, support staff and employees who make library services possible are what keep these resources running and working.
Donations for the HALO fund can be made on the EveryLibrary website at: www.everylibraryinstitute.org/halo
"This donation will be such a blessing in my life this week. I truly appreciate it." - KS
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About EveryLibrary Institute
The EveryLibrary Institute is a national 501c3 non-profit with a mission to support libraries and librarians in the United States and abroad. We partner with allied organisations including foundations, philanthropic organisations, associations, non-profits, and academic institutions to enhance the perception of libraries and librarianship through direct engagement with the public.
About John Chrastka, Executive Director
EveryLibrary’s founder is John Chrastka, a long-time library trustee, supporter, and advocate. Mr. Chrastka is a former partner in AssociaDirect, a Chicago-based consultancy focused on supporting associations in membership recruitment, conference, and governance activities. He is a former president and member of the Board of Trustees for the Berwyn (IL) Public Library (2006 – 2015) and is a former president of the Reaching Across Illinois Libraries System (RAILS) multi-type library system. Prior to his work at AssociaDirect, he was Director for Membership Development at the American Library Association (ALA). He is a member of ALA as well as the Illinois Library Association (ILA), and the American Political Sciences Association (APSA). He as named a 2014 Mover & Shaker by Library Journal and tweets @mrchrastka.
About Patrick Sweeney, Political Director
Patrick Sweeney is a tireless and innovative advocate for libraries. A 2007 graduate of the San Jose School of Library and Information Sciences, Mr. Sweeney is the a former Administrative Librarian of the Sunnyvale (CA) Public Library and was Executive Director of EveryLibrary California, a statewide initiative to support library Propositions. He was awarded Library Journal’s “Movers and Shakers” award in 2015 for his library advocacy work. He is co-author of “Winning Elections and Influencing Politicians for Library Funding” as well as “Before the Ballot; Building Support for Library Funding.” He was recently recognized with a “40 Under 40” award by the American Association of Political Consultants for his work fighting for libraries at EveryLibrary. He is a lecturer at the San Jose Information School where he teaches courses on politics and libraries. He is active across social media as PC Sweeney.