Support the Library
The Davenport Public Library needs and welcomes your support. You can support the Library's efforts to provide quality programs and services to the citizens of Davenport in a wide variety of ways donating your time, talents and money.
Join the FRIENDS!
The FRIENDS of Davenport Public Library serve as the Library's Foundation and provide essential support for Library materials, projects and programs. The FRIENDS operate bookstores at both the Fairmount Branch and the Eastern Avenue Branch and also work on special fundraising projects. An annual membership is a great way to become a supporter of the Davenport Public Library.
Volunteer opportunities
Many programs and services provided by the library rely on volunteers. The homebound delivery program uses volunteer drivers to deliver books and other materials to residents whose health prevents them from being able to visit the library in person.
The youth services department always has openings for volunteers who can assist with craft projects or who have a special talent or skill that is appropriate for sharing with children.
The Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center works with volunteers for a number of projects. Members of the Scott County Iowa Genealogical Society help staff our public service desk so that they can provide additional assistance to customers doing genealogical research. Other volunteers index obituaries and marriage notices from old newspapers while others complete the computer data entry for these indexes.
The Special Collections Center also relies on volunteer "advocates" – those dedicated folks who are interested in genealogy and local history and let us know when important historical collections are in danger of being destroyed so that we can try to arrange for their donation to the Library's local history collection.
Make a contribution
In a period of budget cuts at all levels of government – local, state and federal – the Library relies more and more on monetary donations to accomplish its mission to provide free and equal access to information to all Davenport residents. Your gift, large or small, will have a big impact on the services and materials the Library is able to provide. Some ways to give to the library include:
- a monetary donation designated to support the program or area of your choosing – youth services, adult programming, Special Collections, etc.
- an unrestricted monetary gift to support the library as a whole a memorial gift in memory of a friend or loved one. If such a gift is designated for the purchase of books, etc.
- a memorial bookplate will be placed in each item.
- a future gift in the form of a bequest in your will or designating the library as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy.
Gifts may also be made to The FRIENDS of Davenport Public Library. The FRIENDS can assist with setting up a named foundation to honor a loved one while providing ongoing support for essential library programs.