Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 10/30/02 Section: Campus News

Library employees say they have spent time and efforts making plans for the new Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library. Now they are being asked to donate their money to the library project as well.

Employees from San Jose State University's Clark Library and San Jose's Public Library were sent packets about two weeks ago asking them to donate money to the new joint city and university library, which is slated to open next fall, said Patricia Breivik, dean of the SJSU library.

Library employees said they have questioned whether the library should ask for funding from the employees or not.

"I think it's asking a lot of staff," said librarian Toby Matoush. "We're all involved in planning committees for the new library and we're all really overextended planning for it. We don't get paid a lot. We don't have the salaries that donors have."

Employees who choose to donate are asked to send their money to Caroline Punches, director of development for the new library. The packet was sent to library employees with a letter from Breivik and Jane Light, director of the downtown public library, that asked for employees' financial support.

"This is pretty standard operational procedures for a project like this," Breivik said.

She said whenever a project like this is done, some funds are typically received from large and small donors.

The total cost of the project is $177.5 million, with $16.5 million coming from private fund raising, according to the library.

The approved monetary goal for the library employee campaign is $35,000, according to the packet. A group of library employees decided on that amount before the campaign began, Breivik said. A little less than $6 million has been raised so far from larger donations from public and private supporters.

Breivik said fund raising was included in the original plan for the library. The "quiet" part of the campaign is under way, and in the spring they will go to San Jose residents for financial support. The main problem so far is that fund raising is more difficult now because of the downturn of the economy, she said.

Employees who choose to donate can do so in various ways. They can choose to be billed annually, quarterly, monthly or do a one-time gift. Also, they can choose to have monthly pledge payments taken through a payroll deduction, according to the packet.

It suggested employees deduct a minimum of $10 per month if they choose to have the donation come out of their paychecks.

"I feel it is entirely legitimate for the library to ask staff to make a donation," said Bob McDermand, library head of outreach. "It evidences support of the library staff for the new library."

Some people said they believe donating to the project is a way to show support, but it is not the only way.

"I think that if people didn't donate, they shouldn't think of them as not participating in this project because someone might be able to do something else," said Francis Howard, Clark Library's night manager.

Howard said that in addition to working at the library, he is a student at SJSU. He said his expenses exceed what he makes from working at the library, so he is not sure if he will donate.

"I was a little concerned that they would ask employees to donate," Howard said. "Our salaries are so low, how can we manage something like that?"

Donating to the library is one way employees can show their dedication to the project, Breivik said.

"I think things that you really care about you like to put money into," she said.

Employees who help with the fund raising will be recognized on a plaque inside a staff conference room on fourth floor of the new library. Breivik said she thinks employees like the idea that their names will be on a plaque if they donate. People who donate $1,000 or more will also be recognized on the Donor Wall, which will be installed in the San Fernando lobby of the new library, according to the packet.

"If it motivates people to donate, who can donate, I think it's a good idea," Howard said.

Other employees said putting names on a plaque separates the employees who did donate from the employees who did not. Matoush, who works at the reference desk, said some employees didn't mind being asked to donate but didn't like the idea of recording donors names on a plaque for everyone to see.

"It's like a way of judging people," Matoush said.

More than $15,000 has been pledged already for the library employee campaign, leaving $20,000 still needed to meet the goal, according to the packet.

"The building is on schedule and on budget," Breivik said. "Working right alongside of that is the fund-raising part which is, again, on target."

McDermand said the library asking its employees to donate is not very different from all the other requests for donations people receive on a regular basis.

"You get asked all the time to donate," he said. "It's up to you to make a decision if you're going to be charitable at all. I feel since we are all essentially free agents, you can do what you want."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools