By KEVIN BERGER, Local Journalism Initiative
The Martensville Library Board is planning to host an online auction of items donated by local businesses and community members in order to raise money for its free programming and to put in some much-needed shelving.
Last week, the Martensville Library Board announced the upcoming online auction, which is slated to take place from November 17-19, via a Facebook post.
Librarian Marla Skomar said the board is always doing some type of fundraiser to support their programming, and in the past they have hosted a variety of events like barbecues and craft workshops.
This year, a board member with some experience in such activities suggested they host an online auction.
Ideally, the library is looking for items like gift baskets, event tickets, gift cards, coupons for services, and products that can be auctioned off. Skomar said they have received some interest so far from local businesses and individuals, but they still need some more auction items.
Anyone interested in donating to the online auction should call (306)956-7311 or e-mail: martensville.library@wheatland.sk.ca
The deadline for submitting items is November 7, which will give the library board enough time to set up the auction and take pictures of all the items. The actual details of where and how people can make bids will be announced next month.
Skomar said the library offers its community programming for free, so proceeds from the online auction go towards things like art supplies and bringing in people to facilitate their programs.
“We do have a little shelving project that we also want to do. We have some existing shelving in our library that we need to upgrade to accommodate bigger books,” she said. “Our space is getting full, so we have to kind of get creative on how we can keep our collection. Some taller shelving will help us with our collection here.”
It’s impossible to know how a fundraiser will be received until it actually happens, but Skomar suggested that if the online auction is successful, it could be held again in the future, “but we’ll have to see how it goes and how everything comes together.”