The campaign will ensure the Library continues to play a significant role in the future of the city by providing funds for new buildings, collections, technology, humanities programs and literacy outreach. Simply put, great libraries are essential to great communities. The bond is helping pay for a new central library downtown, five new neighborhood libraries and for replacing or improving all 22 existing neighborhood libraries. Washington Mutual is the only hometown bank headquartered in Seattle with a national presence - it's the eighth largest banking company and the largest savings institution in the country.
Libraries are vital to the educational and economic health of our community.
We are reinventing the library for the 21st century. Private dollars make the difference between building for a generation or two, or building for the next 100 years. Collings said because the gift was unrestricted, the money can help pay for projects that are difficult to fund-raise for, but are equally important to the completion of the Libraries for All program. Washington Mutual, which has a commitment to supporting educational initiatives, has also dedicated a portion of its overall gift to the Library's Summer Reading Program. Nearly 16,000 youngsters from throughout the city participate in this program, which encourages reading and family visits to libraries throughout the summer.