Adopt-a-Book campaign to kick off with April Fool's Trivia event

The Western Counties Regional Library’s most important fundraiser – Adopt-A-Book – kicks off Tuesday, April 1 with the April Fool’s Trivia Challenge from 12 to 2 p.m. at the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Library in Yarmouth.

“The trivia challenge is a fun way to start a serious fundraising campaign,” says Gary Archibald, chairman of the regional library board.

Radio CJLS will be doing a live broadcast during the trivia challenge which will have more than 25 teams vying for the Vanguard Cup. Teams will be awarded for winning their round and the top scoring team overall will win the cup.

Teams are participating from a wide range of organizations including all three municipal governments in Yarmouth County, the school board, CJLS, the Vanguard, service clubs, Yarmouth Hospital Foundation, major financial institutions such as Royal Bank and TD Canada Trust, library sponsors such as Tusket Sales and Service, Boston Pizza and Staples, drug stores, insurance and chartered accountant firms.

The trivia challenge generates lots of laughter – and much needed publicity for the library and its funding challenges, adds Archibald.

The library encourages teams to adopt-a-book while participating and bring along co-workers and other supporters to drop by and cheer. Participants and supporters can improve their team’s chances by putting money in the “bribe box” which all goes toward adopting books for the public library.

“It is all about fun, fundraising and literacy,” says Archibald.

Through its Adopt-A-Book campaign, the goal of the library is to put at least 1,000 new books on the shelves of the 10 library branches serving Yarmouth, Digby and Shelburne counties.

The campaign is the public’s opportunity to help improve their public library and their assistance is said to be more important than ever given the recent freeze placed on funding from the province.

“Last year, the province did not provide any type of funding increase in its 2007-2008 budget equaling a cut in our funding because of rising costs for everything from fuel to books to insurance,” Archibald says. This and the requirement for public libraries to fundraise three per cent of its annual budget make this campaign critical.

Adopt-A-Book runs from April 1 to June 30. People and organizations can choose from a long list of new books and then adopt them for the branch of their choice. Every book adopted will have a name plate acknowledging the adoption placed inside the front cover of the book.

People adopt books for many reasons, says Archibald. Sometimes it’s in the name of a loved one, a special teacher, a friend or even a newborn baby. Some choose to remain anonymous.

The average price of a book is between $25-30, but books are available for as little as $5, but any donation is accepted. In the last decade the library has raised over $140,000 through its Adopt-a-Book campaign.