Trustees, staff and Friends weigh capital campaign vs. funding the study

Trustees and library staff outlined fundraising options for the Friends: donate toward the immediate facilities study, hold and report a running total as seed money for a capital campaign, or pursue matching gifts to attract larger donors.

"If you're dying to spend money, you could always work with the foundation and come up with, like, a mobile library," the library director said, but also warned a study alone may not move a project to construction without council commitment. He and trustees emphasized that showing community donors and seed funding can strengthen the case when the council evaluates capital priorities.

Friends members said they want assurance that any donated money would be used effectively and not buried in future budget cycles. Board members suggested the Friends explore creative options (naming rights for donor-funded rooms, partnering with foundations, or staging a capital campaign with matching commitments) and to track any contributions so they can be presented as part of a larger funding package to council.

The group discussed the trade-offs: a study could produce professional recommendations and an implementation plan, but estimated study costs and the group's own historic practice of saving for capital led many to prefer preserving funds for a future campaign while sponsoring a scoping session with city staff to define study requirements.