Santas for Sirrine Project coming to a close
By Janis Bandelin

For the past three years Furman has joined with the Urban League of the Upstate to assist Sirrine Elementary School in updating its library collection.

Since it began, the Santas for Sirrine Project spearheaded by the Furman libraries has raised more than $11,000 and provided more than 1,000 new books for the Sirrine library. In lieu of shopping for holiday gifts, the Santas for Sirrine Project encourages people to make a tax-deductible gift that will go toward the purchase of new books.

Brochures soliciting donations have been mailed to members of the Furman community and to corporate representatives of the Urban League. When the Sirrine project began, the majority of the school's books had been published before 1950. As a result of Santas for Sirrine, the average publication date of the school's collection is now up to1980. With generous responses, this year's campaign could put the Sirrine collection into the 1990s.

Since 1998, Furman has provided extensive and wide-ranging assistance to Sirrine Elementary School. Education majors have tutored students and worked with Sirrine teachers in the classroom, art students have painted murals at the school, the university has donated 16 computers and members of the library faculty and staff have contributed more than 150 volunteer hours in the Sirrine library.

Over the years, Nancy Sloan of the Furman library staff has overseen the creation of the Santas for Sirrine brochures, and Betty Kelly has coordinated the volunteer work. Other major contributors include Rick Jones (brochure artwork), Ann Bryant (brochure distribution and donation receipts) and Ryan Lazar (Web site creation and maintenance). Additional volunteers have included Laura Baker, Janet Nazar, Linda Schinck, Nancy Sloan, Prudence Taylor and Susan Yeargin.

This year marks the last year for the Santas for Sirrine Project because of the added responsibilities involving the expansion and renovation of the James B. Duke Library.

If you are interested in contributing, you are encouraged to make a gift in honor or in memory of an acquaintance, family member, colleague or friend. The names of donors and honorees are posted on the Santas For Sirrine Web site.

More information about the project, as well as the lists of donors and honorees from 2000 and 2001, can be found at http://library.furman.edu/sirrine/

The writer is Director of Libraries.