After a recent visit to the Silver Lake library, which to my joy is literally around the corner from our apartment, and checking out their collection, I was struck by the curious notion of donating gift magazine subscriptions to my local branch. I wasn’t sure if I could donate a subscription(s), but yesterday I received an email from Melissa Potter, the Silver Lake branch manager and was pleased to read I could indeed offer some titles:
Thank you for your generous offer. We can accept gift subscriptions but the staff has to approve them first. Since you mentioned design and cooking, did you have particular titles in mind? As it happens, this is the time of year when the library figures out which subscriptions to continue, cancel or add. We have just a few more weeks to make decisions. New subscriptions start (and others end) in January. We are in the middle of looking at the titles we have now and figuring out what people are using and what we can get rid of because next year’s budget looks pretty slim. I would be interested in hearing more details about the titles you are suggesting. Thank you for your offer.
I don’t have a big personal budget, but I did think I could pay for a year of Saveur, Giant Robot, and either/or Dwell and Metropolis. If you had the choice of donating a magazine subscription, and considering the neighborhood, which magazines would you want to see at the Silver Lake library?
And if any of you have the willingness to join in and make a gift subscription, I think it would be fantastic to make a multi-title donation altogether!
2 Comments
Dot Dot Dot
First Kiss
The Gentlewoman
i-D
Butt
Most publishers will donate to certain libraries–you shouldn’t have to pay full subscription rates! That librarians have to approve the selection first is so stupid–that’s why Pasadena doesn’t have Antiques–the magazine, but does have some bogus Antiques/Collectibles monthly.