So many people gave money to The Seattle Public Library this morning that the library foundation’s website couldn’t keep up.
“The overwhelming amount of traffic to the gift processing part of our website caused it to crash. We are so sorry for this inconvenience,” wrote Jonna Ward, executive director of The Seattle Public Library Foundation.
That’s good. It means the public is supporting the library at a time of deep budget cuts.
Because of citywide budget shortages, the library’s 2010 budget was cut by $1.17 million (2.4 percent). Next year the library faces cuts that could range from a low of 9.5 percent ($4.9 million), to a high of 14.5 percent ($7.4 million).
So it was great news when an anonymous donor offered the library foundation a grant of $500,000 if donors can match it, for $1 million in all. Our news partner The Seattle Times has a story on that announcement today.
The foundation has set up an alternate way to give, here. Or call 206-386-4130 to make a gift by phone
