Princeton University Donates $100,000 to Public Library

libraryPrinceton University has donated $100,000 to the Princeton Public Library’s stewardship fund, the head of the library announced today.

Launched with a $1 million challenge grant from longtime library supporter Betty Wold Johnson, the fund is designed to establish an endowment to make upgrades to the library.

“We are very happy that the university recognizes the need for the library to be continually updated and refreshed to meet changing community needs,” Library Executive Director Leslie Burger said. “This generous gift will enable us help provide the funding resources required to maintain a world-class public library building that can adapt to the ever-changing needs of future generations.”

In a letter to Burger announcing the gift, Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber said the university was pleased to continue a long history of partnership with the library, which dates to the formation of the library in 1909.

“The library’s vibrant schedule of activities and loyal patrons testify to its importance as a locus of intellectual curiosity and cultural engagement in Princeton,” Eisgruber wrote. “It seems not very long ago that the doors of the new building were opened to the public, and now it is, to borrow your phrase, our indispensable ‘community living room.’ I look forward to many more years of collaboration.”

The library welcomes more than 850,000 visitors each year, including Princeton University students, faculty and staff. More than 1,000 non-resident faculty and about 1,500 undergraduate and graduate students receive free library memberships each year. The library and the university collaborate in many areas, including after-school homework help for schoolchildren, free public programming featuring university scholars, and shared facilities use. This year the library joined with the Princeton Merchants Association in hosting a freshman orientation event on Hinds Plaza.