Group supports Rockingham libraries with volunteer hours, fundraising efforts

By Steve Lawson

Published: December 2, 2008

Like many members of her organization, Gloria Newman’s excitement grows as the “light at the end of the tunnel” gets bigger with each passing month.
“Its’ been a long time coming, but it’s exciting to realize it’s finally starting to become a reality,” said Newman, president of the Friends of the Western Rockingham Public Libraries.
The Friends have played an integral part in providing financial and other assistance to the libraries in Madison, Mayodan and Stoneville for more than a decade. For many years, the group sponsored annual or semi-annual used book sales at various locations. Two years ago, they consolidated those efforts into a storefront in Mayodan, where they could offer donated books on a year-round basis.
Funds raised through the bookstore are used to benefit all three Western Rockingham Public Library branches. They will also be part of the fundraising project to help build a new library.
Newman said building a larger, more modern joint library has been part of the Friends’ vision for many years.
That dream began to materialize about two years ago when the need for repairs and problems with half-time schedules at the Madison and Mayodan branches created a renewed interest in merging the two libraries. A survey conducted at both locations found the communities favored the merger, and a committee was formed to study the concept.
In 2007, the Library Building Oversight Committee consists of representatives from Rockingham County government, two county commissioners, representatives from the towns of Madison and Mayodan, two members of the Library Board of Trustees, the director and assistant director of RCPL. A representative from the Friends group was added later.
Things began to move more quickly in 2008 with the hiring of architectural firm LS3P to work on the project. After starting with the idea of constructing a 15,000-square-foot building that would cost about $3.5 million, the committee reduced its expectations to a more modest 12,500-square-foot, $2.5 million library. The facility will be built on property donated for that purpose by the late Dalton L. McMichael between Ayersville Road and Burton Street in Madison near the border with Mayodan.
Committee members recently settled on a funding plan that called for a division of the funding between the involved entities. Library director Jay Stephens committed the Library Board and Friends group to raising half of the necessary funds, or $1.25 million. Rockingham County agreed to pay half of the remaining money, or $625,000.
As of the committee’s Nov. 25 meeting, the towns of Madison and Mayodan have also committed to contributing up to $312,500 each toward the final $2.5 million goal.
“With all of the economic problems facing our nation, local governments and individuals these days, it’s really wonderful to see the kind of support we have from everyone involved in this project to move things ahead,” said Newman. “This is exactly the kind of partnership it takes to make something like this happen.”
Prior to the Nov. 25 meeting, all of the parties involved in the project – with the exception of Madison – had given their approval of the proposed funding plan. Madison’s Board of Aldermen expressed concern about construction costs being too high for the size of the building. After completing discussions with several contractors and other agencies, the board agreed the costs proposed by LS3P were within reasonable limits. Madison Mayor Micky Silvers gave the board preliminary approval of the funding arrangements, but made it clear the $312,500 was an “up-to” limit.
Stephens announced at the committee’s Nov. 25 meeting that Friends of the Western Rockingham Public Library had donated $40,000 to the project fund. Combined with $60,000 already in the fund from the sale of a portion of the property donated by McMichael for the library, the project had about $100,000 to complete the initial schematic designs and drawings for marketing.
“The Friends have been a considerable partner in this project throughout the entire process,” Stephens said. “They’ve always been supportive of the idea in both planning and fundraising, and they’re still a major partner with the library’s board and staff.”
Stephens said one of the ways the library hopes to raise funds is through the acquisition of grant funds. The Friends group completed and filed an application for grant funds through the Golden Leaf Foundation but recently found out the grant was denied.
“We were sorry to hear we didn’t get the grant, but the foundation sent a letter explaining how many applications they were getting and how low funds were due to the current economic problems,” Newman said.
Far from being discouraged, however, Newman said the Friends are increasingly optimistic about the future merger of the two libraries. She said the need for a new facility has been on the minds of those closely connected with the two branches for many years. In fact, a past version of the current Friends organization raised funds more than a decade ago with the expectation of starting to build the new library.
“An earlier form of Friends handed over $100,000 for us to hold and invest toward a future merger project about 10 years ago,” Newman said. “We now have about $200,000 we plan to contribute for the new library, but we have to wait for the CDs to mature in order to convert them.”
That means the Friends organization has already committed about $240,000 to the construction of a new Madison-Mayodan Public Library facility, or nearly 40 percent of the combined responsibility of the two concerned municipalities.
“That sounds like a lot and it’s a good start to the total needed, but there’s still a long way to go,” Newman said. “There’s a lot of fundraising still ahead of us and these are not the best of times to be trying to get donations. But I think there is a lot of support from the communities involved and we’ll find a way to make this library a reality. There is light at the end of the tunnel.”
The funds donated to the project by the Friends at the Nov. 25 meeting came at the right time to allow the Oversight Committee to move forward with schematic plans. Stephens said the plans, especially the color renderings of what the finished facility should look like, would be a great tool in the fundraising process.
“It always helps to have something that gives a visual representation of what you’re asking people to help build,” Stephens said. “Having something like that makes marketing the project a lot easier, and it was the Friends’ donation that made it possible to move forward with that part of the project.”
The additional funds also help provide assurances to companies and groups approached during fundraising that there is already confidence from others that the project will be successful.
“It’s always good to have something to point to that already says success in the fundraising realm and that’s what this initial gift provides,” Stephens said. “It takes a lot of money up front to get the project off the floor and moving, but that’s finally happening.”

News Editor Steve Lawson can be reached at or at 548-6047.