On 6 May 2013, Armagh Public Library’s Archivist, Thirza Mulder, will run the Belfast Marathon to raise money for the Library’s collection conservation programme.
As an independent organisation, the Library relies heavily on external funding, since it does not receive funding from government or church sources. While able to fund the basic care and staffing of the Library which ensures that the public can visit and avail of the collections, there is no budget for conservation and acquisitions. It is for the conservation of the book collection that Thirza wants to run the full Belfast Marathon.
Thirza said: “I had already set my mind on running the Marathon last year as a personal goal, and when it came to registering and choosing a charity to run for, I did not have to think long!
The Library lies very close to my heart: it is a wonderful place to work, visit and ‘be’. There are many books that are in need of conservation, ranging from a spine that needs re-attaching, to books that need complete cleaning and restoration. Sometimes the condition of a book may be such that we cannot allow the public to consult it. At the moment there are no funds to remedy this, and I hope that, by running the Marathon, I can make people aware of the need for this work and encourage them to make a donation.”
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Please use the button in the sidebar to make your donation! Alternatively, you can leave in a cash donation at the Library, or send your donation via cheque, made payable to ‘Armagh Public Library’ to Armagh Public Library, 43 Abbey Street, BT61 7DY, Armagh.
All donations made through the website, by post or in person will be lodged in a separate account, ensuring that all donations from the Marathon, and subsequent donations, are clearly earmarked for conservation only.
A donation of £5, equivalent to 12p per kilometre, would buy the Library the services of a qualified conservator for 15 minutes!
With donations from £20 to £40, one of the following treatments can be given to a medium size book; surface clean, mould treatment, or de-acidification. For £60 to £80, a medium size book can be conserved with general structural repairs to pages and text block, or re-binding and sewing.
Gregory Dunstan, the Keeper of the Library said, “Our staff are devoted to the Library, but Thirza is going way beyond the extra mile! Donations, however small, will help us enormously. What is a Library for if not to look after its books, so that they remain available for generations to come?”
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So far we have raised £1187! Thank you very much for your support!
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