The Roeliff Jansen Community Library is important to so many people for so many reasons: parents bring their children for story hour; neighbors gather for programs; friends participate in workshops, concerts, reading groups AND all this happens in a safe, beautiful space. Our library depends upon the support of individual donors such as you. Less than 40% of our operating budget comes from public tax funds allocated by the towns we serve. That’s why we need YOU and your support.
MANY thanks for your contributions. You can donate to a specific campaign or you can make a general donation by scrolling down to the bottom of this page.
When you make a general online donation, you will have the following four options to choose from:
1. NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK – Scroll down to read our Board’s National Library Week letter to the community and find out why it’s more important than ever to consider supporting Roe Jan Library.
2. GENERAL DONATION – Please consider a monthly contribution. It’s an easy way to give and means a lot to the library’s operations.
3. HONOR A FRIEND OR RELATIVE – We can send an acknowledgment letter to the person you honor. You will have an opportunity to provide us with their contact information on the second screen of the check out process. Look for “Write a note (Optional)”. Also, providing your contact information will allow us to contact you if we have any questions. After clicking Donate below please use the “(Optional) – use this donation for” drop down box to tell us about your donation.
4. MEMORIALIZE SOMEONE – We can send an acknowledgment letter to the family of the person memorialized. You will have an opportunity to provide us with their contact information on the second screen of the check out process. Look for “Write a note (Optional)”. Also, providing your contact information will allow us to contact you if we have any questions. After clicking Donate below please use the “(Optional) – use this donation for” drop down box to tell us about your donation.
Dear Library Patron,
National Library Week is April 6–12, 2025, and libraries across America are sending out an SOS. In 2025 federal funds that support public libraries, including the Mid-Hudson Library System and the Roeliff Jansen Community Library, are on the chopping block.
On March 14, President Trump issued an Executive Order to eviscerate the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The IMLS is an independent federal agency that supports libraries, archives, and museums by
funneling grants to state libraries. In New York State, these funds support the Division of Library Development, which works in partnership with library systems such as our own Mid-Hudson Library System to develop statewide and regional services that meet local needs. These services are especially crucial to smaller, rural libraries such as ours, that would not otherwise be able to afford the technology support, e-resources, and more that we currently provide.
Libraries across New York State depend on state funding to maintain their operations. That funding in turn derives from the Grants to States program of the Museum and Library Services Act. The elimination of this funding would have a negative and, in some cases, devastating impact on libraries in New York State and around the country. The 2018 Museum and Library Services Act makes it clear that IMLS is statutorily required (by Sec 9133 of the law) to send federal funding to state libraries under the Grants to States program (under Sec. 9141 of
the law). While other grant programs within IMLS are discretionary, the Grants to States program is written as a “shall”. It is critical that this law remain in force and I am asking you to defend IMLS’s Section 9141 guarantees to state libraries.
Also in jeopardy: a program that pays for 90% of the cost of Roe Jan Library’s internet, without which the library cannot function and which provides free Wi-Fi to our patrons. Oral arguments before the Supreme Court are set for March 26, with a decision expected in June.
Things aren’t much better at the state level: of the aid provided by the Governor and Legislature for public library systems and their services, the budget is still 40% below what’s called for in New York State Education Law, Section 273, when adjusted for inflation.
In past years when federal funding in support of libraries has been at risk, Congress has intervened to restore the monies. We can’t count on that to happen in 2025. There’s never been greater urgency to protect the Roe Jan Library, a vibrant community hub that connects area residents with knowledge, technology, and resources while fostering civic engagement, critical thinking, and lifelong learning. We provide free and equitable access to books, digital tools, and innovative programming so that individuals—regardless of background—have the support they need to learn, connect, and thrive.
Legendary CBS News Anchor Walter Cronkite once said, “Whatever the cost of libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.”
Like most libraries, the Roe Jan Library never has enough money for what we want to do. Most libraries
in our system receive 80% to 90% of their funding from tax revenues; the Roe Jan Library receives only
35% of our funding from tax revenues. Which is why, every year during National Library Week, we
ask you to consider what the Roe Jan Library means to you. Please support us with a donation of any
size. We hope you will continue to protect and support one of our most important public institutions.