Library receives windfall from foundation

Noaki Schwartz

NEWPORT BEACH -- The Newport Beach Public Library Foundation donated a

hefty $126,672 to the library, accounting for nearly half of its total

materials budget this year.

Among other things, the money that was turned over on Valentine’s Day

will be used to buy databases for the institution’s computers.

These will include databases to research news, financial information,

books and general information. Of the total amount granted, $6,540 will

also be used to add new books and audio books to the library.

The latest contribution is about one-third more than the foundation had

originally budgeted to give to the library.

The foundation had been focusing on building an endowment fund for the

library to glean an annual $100,000 during bad financial times.

While the foundation had planned to give about $80,000 this year -- in

order to campaign for the endowment fund -- generous donations and a good

return in investments allowed it to make a larger grant, said Tracy Keys

of the foundation.

“We’re very appreciative,” said library trustee Jim Wood. “It’s a

pleasant surprise. It’s in line with what they’ve done in the past.”

The foundation has a symbiotic relationship with the library’s board of

trustees.

But for the past six months, relations have been strained as the two

groups wrestled with trustee accusations of financial mismanagement. An

audit, however, found nothing amiss and the groups are actively working

out their differences.

While the foundation raises money and handles donations, it is the

trustees that decide how the funds are to be spent.

Still, the foundation has consistently donated a comparable chunk of

money each year since it was established six years ago. Since 1994, it

has donated a little more than $1 million to the library.

This includes $450,000 from the first foundation that primarily raised

money to build the institution.

In the past, the funds have been used to install the library’s computer

system and to pay for conferences, book collections, the new teen center

and the literacy collection.