Astoria, OR: The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded the Astoria Oregon Public Library Foundation a $500,000 grant to go toward the Astoria Public Library Renovation
The Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grant requires a 3-to-1 match over a 5 year period. The grant will go toward a transformation that will enhance the humanities in the community through archives spaces, meeting and conference rooms, a gallery, and a media lab.
“This significant federal award toward the transformation of our 52 year old library into a highly functional space is a huge step forward,” said Astoria Mayor, Bruce Jones. “The federal investment in our community validates our plan to provide Astorians a state of the art library that will meet the community’s needs for another 50 years.”
The Astoria Oregon Public Library Foundation is working with the City of Astoria as an independent, tax-exempt organization led by volunteers to raise resources for and awareness for the renovation of the public library. The current estimated cost for the renovation is $7 million.
“We’re thrilled,” said David Oser, Foundation secretary and treasurer. “This is a major milestone in our fundraising efforts and validates the tremendous support we’ve received from the community and from the City.”
The Foundation and City staff will be working together to identify and raise the matching funds within the time frame and within the terms required by the NEH.
Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: www.neh.gov.
For more information contact the Astoria Oregon Public Library Foundation President, Arline LaMear at 503-338-6883 or Secretary/Treasurer, David Oser at 847-687-1887. Contact the Astoria City Manager’s Office at 503-325-5824.
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