Fundraising for Academic Libraries: A Practical Guide for Librarians

With more universities facing financial difficulty and academic libraries being asked to do more with less, fundraising has been transformed from a luxury to a necessity. Now, more than ever, academic libraries need to know how to effectively obtain and steward donors. Most fundraising books are written from perspectives that are not always relevant to the complex environment that academic libraries must navigate.

Fundraising for Academic Libraries: A Practical Guide for Librarian is written just for academic libraries. The authors demystify fundraising to enable those to work in an academic library to feel confident in their ability to obtain contributions, sponsorships, and grants for their libraries. From major gifts to events to special collections, this book looks at academic library fundraising holistically. Not a one-size-fits-all approach, chapters explore multiple methods that an academic library can use to identify potential donors, ask for gifts, and retain existing contributors. This book also connects readers with extensive fundraising resources so they can readily apply the book’s tips and techniques to their own library environment. Whether they are interested in approaching a local business to provide a prize for a silent auction or asking for an established donor for an estate gift, novice academic library fundraisers will find step-by-step instructions that help them navigate a variety of situations. By providing readers with practical fundraising tools including flow charts, simple proposal and gift templates as well as sample donor correspondence, this book enables academic libraries to be able to start and advance their own development programs.

Karlene Noel Jennings (MSLIS, PhD, CFRE) is Executive Director of Advancement and External Relations at UNC Greensboro University Libraries. A passionate advocate for the life-changing impact of education and libraries, Karlene finds joy in creating strategic philanthropic partnerships between donors and institutions. Karlene holds a PhD from Iowa State University in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and an MS in Library & Information Sciences from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She holds an M.Ed in Higher Education Administration and a M.(Cert.) in Museum Administration from the University of South Carolina and a BA in American History from Washington & Lee University. She is a master trainer for Association of Fund Raising Professionals. She is a member of CASE, AFP, and ALA; she is a member of the ALA Philanthropic Advisory Group. Karlene has co-authored two books about library advancement (ARL SPEC KIT 297: Library Development (2006) and More than a Thank You Note: Academic Library Fundraising for the Dean or Director (2009), and other writings about library development and fundraising in general.



Joyce Garczynski is Assistant University Librarian for Communications & Development Librarian at Towson University‘s Albert S. Cook Library. She obtained a Master’s Degree in Library Science from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2009 and has a Master’s in Communication from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to becoming a librarian, Joyce was a project coordinator and research assistant at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Joyce has written numerous articles and recently wrote Fundraising: how to raise money for your library using social media (2017, Elsevier: Chandos.) In this role she teaches communication students about the research process, manages library publicity, and oversees library fundraising efforts. Joyce’s scholarship focuses on library social media. Joyce is a member of ALA, ACRL, and she is a member of the ALA Philanthropic Advisory Group.