TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager to extend the agreement with Long Beach Public Library Foundation, through which the Foundation provides services and financial support to the Long Beach Public Library system, for a period of five years, with an additional five-year renewal option. (District 2)
DISCUSSION
The Long Beach Public Library Foundation (Foundation) was created in 1996 as a non-profit corporation to acquire financial support to supplement but not supplant funding provided by the General Fund for the Department of Library Services (Library). The goals of the Foundation are to promote literacy, to enhance opportunities for the entire community to utilize the library and gain from its resources, to help create a means for the community to be part of a computer-literate citizenry, and to promote an opportunity for the corporate and private sector to fund short- and long-range library projects. When the Foundation was established, a special Endowment Fund was created to provide support and services for the library.
The Endowment Fund has grown over time from bequests and other monetary gifts from donors seeking to assist the Foundation in fulfilling its goals. The Foundation funds the 12 Family Learning Centers in the libraries in Long Beach. The Foundation provides special programming and material resources such as computer software and books for the Library. In addition, the Foundation has applied for grant funding to support other special projects for the Library. In collaboration with the Foundation, the Library has applied for grant funding from the California State Library and other agencies. When State grants are applied for in tandem, often there are special provisions. For example, in one case, although the State grant was for use by the Foundation for the Library, the City had to execute a separate contract for expenditure of the funds. Similar issues have arisen with bequests that were given to the Library but should have been dir...
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