UPDATE: The blog challenge has ended! We raised $128 for Evanston Public Library Friends. Thanks, everyone, for your lovely comments. I’m grateful to see so much love for libraries.
[See all those blogs in that list below? Stay tuned for a follow-up post on the grand total raised for libraries.]
I’m participating in the library-loving blog challenge!
I'm donating to Evanston Public Library Friends
For every commenter on this post between now and March 27 (at 11:59pm CST), I will donate $1.00 to Evanston’s budget-troubled branch libraries, up to $150. Comments on my recent related posts, “Dystopia hitting libraries too soon” and “Libraries holding…” also qualify.
It’s easy! You comment on any of these posts, I cough up the money, and the libraries get a gift!
In fact, when you enter my Order of Odd-Fish book giveway before the deadline on Sunday 3/21, I’ll contribute a bonus $1.00.
Keep in mind that aside from the bonus $1.00, my pledge is per commenter. If a single person leaves 50 comments, that’s just one donation. But you can do more by spreading the word. Please use the handy links below to share this post. Send your friends here so they can comment and raise more money for libraries.
If you’d rather make a flat-fee donation to your library, or to start the challenge on your blog, please do! And keep me posted about that in a comment below. You can find the official blog-challenge details on Jennifer R. Hubbard’s “writerjenn” blog.
“I Love Libraries” blog challenge week is March 23-27. (Yes, I’m getting started a little early.)
Chris Smith, author
Judith Mercado (Pilgrim Soul)
Mary Calhoun Brown
Kimberly Sabatini (Jess Free Falcon)
Colleen Rowan Kosinski (Writer Girl)
Holly Cupala (Tell Me a Secret)
Margie Gelbwasser
4IQREAD
Robin Bridges (Barefoot Contessa)
Lisa Schroeder
Jen Nadol (What’s Up?)
Deborah Freedman (Writes with Pictures)
Amy Brecount White
Janet S. Fox (Through the Wardrobe)
Angela De Groot
Taffy’s Candy
Hilari’s Post-it Place
Sarah Mullen Gilbert (The Writing Cave)
They Napalmed My Shrubbery This Morning
Reflective Renewal
C.J. Omololu
Jessica Shea
Book Junkie’s Bookshelf
Lara Zielin
Jama Rattigan’s Alphabet Soup
Beth Mithen (A Writing Journey)
Not Enough Bookshelves
Little Lamb Books
Cari’s Book Blog
Disgruntled Bear also win a book from the Bear!
Melissa Walker
The Texas Sweethearts
Alma Alexander (AlmaNews)
C. Lee McKenzie (TheWriteGame)
Sydney Salter
Michelle Knudsen
Brimful Curiosities
The Bookworm
Spirits of the Belleview Biltmore
Heather (Marine Corps Nomads)
Denise Jaden
Armchair News here and on Facebook
Jessica Leader
Deborah Diesen (Jumping the Candlestick)
Musings of a Restless Mind
Diary of a Mad Woman
Lizann Flatt (The Flatt Perspective)
Composing Lola
Marla Warren (Musings on Michael Crichton)
Hip Writer Mama
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Margoblog 
Do it! :)
Margo…a good cause. I’m sure you’ll raise a lot of money for the library.
Great idea, I love the EPL!
Thanks for joining in! I think yours is the first post, and I’ll start spreading the word soon. :-)
Go go Margo! Great idea. And a wonderful way to show your library love.
Thanks for the comments so far, everybody! Let’s keep this party going – invite all your friends! (Heck, I’ll even count my own comment for a donation.)
And don’t forget the bonus $1 donation for entering my giveaway of James Kennedy’s The Order of Odd-Fish paperback and soundtrack music mix – support an area author AND area libraries in a SINGLE comment!
This is a really great idea! Hope you raise a lot of money…
Yay for libraries!
Thanks for supporting your library!
Thanks for supporting libraries!
good job! Let’s show them we value our libraries.
What a wonderfully generous offer, Margo!! Too good to pass up. Evanston Public Library and the branches serve such an important role in our community. During this economic downturn it is clear that public libraries are essential to Evanston not just a quality of life issue.
Indeed, Mary Alice. Thanks for visiting. :)
Go Margo go! Go libraries go! Neighborhood libraries make a difference in a community — for residents, businesses and friends. Thanks for doing this. Marcia
Keep up the efforts to support your community libraries.
Great cause!
In honor of my friend and former roommate Marcia Mahoney, I support the library system.
I no longer live in Evanston although I did so for 35 years and my children grew up there, going to the library. The Evanston branch libraries contribute mightily to the quality of life that Evanston [used to] offer. If they go away, Evanston might as well curl up its toes and get ready to die, for it will.
I used to work for EPL and years ago I worked occasionally at South Branch doing bilingual storyhours or at North Branch helping with childrens programming. When I lived in South Evanston I used to walk to the South Branch once a week for my books. It was a nice neighborhood meeting place.
Diane- What language do you speak other than English? Are you still proficient, and could you do bilingual storytimes? Marcia
What a great cause, thank you.
Margo, you rock for this great idea for donations. Thanks for your support.
Tell everyone, well at least 145 more people;-)
Not my area, but supporting libraries anywhere is a worthy cause. Good job!
Thanks, guys! Keep those comments coming.
Tell all your friends, especially any bloggy types who could do their own blog challenge (here are the official blog-challenge details).
Diane, Abby, Pat, Mary Alice and Bruce: I hope to do the EPLF proud. Thanks for sharing.
Go, Margo!
as a librarian, i feel obliged to comment!! you are the best kind of library patron! (literally!)
Thanks, RU! I was a fan of checking out skyscraper-high stacks of books – so yeah, I’m committed to libraries.
Good for you! Thanks for supporting this vital community asset.
Great idea! Would be/will be a sad day in Evanston if the branches go by the wayside. I hope my “two cents” helps.
Even if the shelves of the Evanston Library branches held nothing but the collected works of John Irving, Luke Rinehart and Charles Bukowski, they would be worth saving. Good luck to you all.
Go libraries. Thanks for the donation.
Thank you, Margo! Libraries are very important for all of us!
This is a great idea. Our libraries need to be saved. There wasn’t a greater highlight in my day as a child than going to the library to pick out our books. No way that my parents could have afforded all the books that we read. Good luck!
Great Job! Getting my challenge ready too! :o)
AWESOME. I’ll see you on your blog!
“I Love Libraries”
libraries ROCK!
This is great! Most libraries are in dire straights right now! I know the Ohio libraries can use all the help they can get!
Glad you are doing this lovely challenge. I just posted mine, so it’s great to be in such good company.
I just commented on your entry! Thanks for visiting and participating. :)
Great cause! Thanks for your participation :)
Hooray for libraries!
Evanston! My childhood library was Hinsdale :) Hugs to you.
What a great celebration of libraries :) I hope you max out on comments :)
Me, too. :)
Libraries are the best!
I love libraries!
Hi Margo! Good luck with the challenge, and thanks for commenting on mine!
Absolutely, Sarah!
Love libraries! Thanks, Margo!
Disgruntled Bear loves libraries!
Ooh, and I like the new look of your page.
Why, thank you, Kate!
Thanks for visiting and supporting libraries.
Thank you, fellow lover of libraries
thedragonsroost.net
“When people who can read and write start fighting on behalf of people who can’t, you just end up with another kind of stupidity. If you want to help them, build a big library or something somewhere, and leave the doors open.”~Terry Pratchett, Interesting Times.
Libraries and you rock!
Hi library-loving blogger! I wish my library was bigger so it could hold more books!
Here is my challenge:
http://taffyscandy.blogspot.com/2010/03/library-loving-blog-challenge.html
Yay, libraries! I just posted the challenge on my blog, too.
Long live the Evanston Library!
Hooray for the blog challenge! Thank you!
Love libraries! I’m also doing the challenge Holly Cupala, Tell Me a Secret!
Thanks, Margo! Go libraries!!
I love libraries! ♥
Thanks for doing such a great job at helping your library!
Libraries are wonderful. I hope every child will have access to a library near their home. Thanks.
Yay, Margo! Yay, libraries!
Woot! Go libraries!!!
I <3 libraries too! Thanks for your comment on our challenge (Texas Sweethearts)!
Thank you for participating and supporting libraries!
Thank you for loving libraries and good luck on your challenge.
Hooray for libraries!
coll
Great challenge! Thank you for supporting your local library!
-Kristin Tubb
Good for you, it’s an excellent cause. I got to hear James Kennedy read from “Odd-fish” at the Evanston Public Library.
A memorable occasion, indeed… :) Did you hear about the fan art show he’s having on 4/17?
Thanks for visiting!
yes, one of the more valuable comments I’ve made yet. Hooray for libraries.
books…the gifts that keep on giving! Great job.
This is awesome! Good luck!
I love libraries. And challenges. Way to go!
I love libraries! I start taking my kids from the time they are babies and we go almost every weekend!
Thanks for doing this. Libraries really need our support now during this tough economic climate. I’m thrilled to see how many people are participating!
Yay for libraries!
I love this! So glad to see people going out and supporting their local libraries. I plan on commenting on the blogs of everyone who’s participating in the challenge.
Awesome, Vasilly! I’m doing that, too. Keep an eye on the blog list through the week – it keeps growing! :)
Go, go, go, Evanston! That’s $1 buck in the kitty. Cha-ching.
Thanks, Cynthea! Counting all my comments, that’s $83 bucks in the kitty! Let’s keep ’em coming.
And don’t forget to visit the other blog challenges (list above)!
That’s 84… :-) Thanks for doing this, Margo!
Margo–
This is a wonderful cause. Every one needs and uses the library.
June Sengpiehl
I think it’s great that you’re participating in this comment pledge drive! I’m near you in the Chicagoland area, and I’m glad you’re helping the local library!
Thanks for doing this!
Thanks for the great blogdea! There is something small-town cozy about the branch libraries, somthing that hearkens back to when childhood meant discovering a new book every weekend – but something enough in the now world to let grown up you discover those new books too…it would be a shame to lose our branches!
I think this challenge is so much fun. Good luck!!
Adapted from some letters sent over the years concerning our beloved branches:
When I visit the North Branch, I am uplifted by the dedicated work the librarians and staff do to help their patrons of all ages and encourage young children in so many thoughtful and delightful ways to discover the joys of reading, knowledge, and discovery. We all want these children to become responsible, well informed adults, in a city which prides itself on its widespread diversity, literacy and education. The North Branch is in walking distance of Haven, Lincolnwood and Willard schools.
For the elderly, and those with limited mobility, books-by-mail and Internet are pale substitutes for the personal contact, convenience, and availability of service at the North Branch and the South Branch. Many neighbors thrive on the community interaction at these special places.
The North Branch helps to anchor the economy of North Evanston, by increasing property values and making it a destination for people who might otherwise do more of their shopping and dining in other tax jurisdictions.
Now, when Evanston has been hit especially hard by the recession, yet wants to wants to help its residents and small businesses to succeed, please do not forget the Library branches that contribute so positively to the reasons folks move here and stay here.
For those on fixed income, with children, facing hardship, the library offers valuable information from so many sources as well as rewarding reading that its branches use to nourish our local neighborhoods in these difficult times.
Thank you, Margo Gremmler!
Bill, thank you so much for adding your comment. A resident of Chicago myself (and from Dallas originally), I appreciate hearing just how these libraries have impacted, even changed, so many lives.
A bookmobile just won’t do.
Yay! Libraries! Thank you for your support!
I love libraries too!
I love libraries! Thanks for doing this.
Thanks for your support of libraries!
Every town, no matter how small, should have a library. Thanks for doing this!
My post is at: http://www.ishtamercurio.blogspot.com
I’m loving this challenge. Thanks for participating and helping support our libraries! :)
Woohoo! Go, libraries, go!
Hi Margo – it is really exciting what we can do for libraries by working together!
Thank you also for putting Reflective Renewal on your list.
Best,
Lauree
Absolutely – I hope we max out your comments this week!
What a mitzvah!
It is! Yours is the 101st comment, my dear! :)
Happy to help out and thank you for stopping by! BTW, this was my boss’ childhood library!
These days, libraries need all the help they can get!
The Evanston library is very nice. I visited it when I lived in the Chicago area.
I’m participating in the library blog challenge, though I’ve gotten a bit of a late start:
Michael Crichton’s Recommended Reading – Library Promo
http://www.musingsonmichaelcrichton.com/2010/03/michael-crichtons-recommended-reading.html
Thank you so much for the support…libraries across the country are facing some pretty horrific budgetary crunches. It’s good to see this kind of support.
Thanks so much for doing this! Reading always needs a boost.
Thank you so much for supporting libraries!
From a Chicago rare book librarian.
Good luck with your challenge! All this library love makes me so happy!
Me, too, Jessica!
What a wonderful thing for you to do! Of course I’ll add my comment :) I love my library and we often use and support it. I cannot imagine living without one in my community! The library is always one of the first places I go when in a new town. Thanks and good luck!
Yay for Libraries – you have over 100, that’s awesome!!
I love libraries!
What would we do without libraries? I don’t want to find out. Great challenge!
Yay for libraries!
There better be libraries in heaven. Woot!
Thanks for supporting a library.
Thanks for participating in the challenge! Yay for libraries!
Thank you for supporting your library!
I’ll throw my support into this. Reed moar buks.
What an awesome cause! I love libraries (and reading) too!
What a wonderful cause! You are very sweet and generous.
Love those libraries! The smell, the anticipation, the serene quiet. Thanks for donating to such a great cause!
Thanks for doing this! I might stage one of these myself when I have the income to do so!
What a great gift, Margo! Way to go!
Coming in just under the wire here . . . huzzah for libraries!
Libraries are cool.
I admire what you are doing. This is an awesome idea. :)
Thanks so much, Margo! Evanston Library Friends will be happy to hear the comments totaled 128.
The awesome Jennifer Hubbard established this challenge last year – I’ll soon post the final tally of all participating blog challenges. (The list of blogs tripled over last year!)
(BTW, We should stick together. There aren’t many of us “t”-less Margo’s.)
okay, finally i’m here making comments. libraries are addictive, like cigarettes. but they are so much better for you. i like coming in and browsing, and using the computers, and interacting with the patrons and the librarians. losing the library would be Not Fun!! Let’s keep up the drive. who knows how to write grant letters get those going — let’s not let the sun set permanently over our libraries. we’re here, we’re capable, we’re proud!! let’s do it!!
Khira West.
Thanks, Khira. You’re right on all counts. Let’s do this!
I’m always excited about this challenge and this is my second year to participate. You’ve gotten a fabulous turnout. Congrats.