Photo provided Participants enjoy Bartholomew County Library fundraiser Library After Dark Readeasy.
One could say that the Bartholomew County Public Library’s first 1920s-style fundraiser Saturday was the cat’s pajamas, to use a phrase from those days.
The Friends of the Library group called its Library After Dark Readeasy a success with slightly fewer than 100 people in the Stephen Suckow Atrium at the downtown venue on Fifth Street. The name is a play on the term speakeasy from that period.
A silent auction featuring everything from restaurant gift certificates to YES Cinema movie tickets raised $1,600.
Organizers are still tabulating bills and overall proceeds from the event that they say could become a yearly gathering. Those figures should be available in a day or two. Proceeds will go the library’s summer reading program for both children and adults, and also to the summer concert series on the plaza.
Kimberly Hoffman, a member of the event organizing committee, succinctly summarized the significance of it all.
“This is so important because our summer reading program encourages so many young people to read by making it just more fun,” she said. “… And reading opens up so many worlds to you.”
The fun includes a range of incentives such as prizes either for more books read, or more time spent reading. Hoffman also mentioned the importance of encouraging children to read at an early age to boost literacy — a key at a time when literacy is decking nationwide which in turn impacts later employment and more, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Other figures show that adults are reading significantly less than years ago.
Hoffman said attendees seem to enjoy everything from the music of guitarist Barney Quick and violinist Carolyn Dutton to heavy appetizers from Purely Paula Catering.
“We felt that the event went over very well,” she said. “And the Friends of the Library want to be sure to thank all those who supported us.”
