The Woodland Public Library has opened an Internet shopping mall to help offset budget cuts related to the statewide recession. The venture, called Shop for the Library, features more than 200 merchants, including popular sites such as Amazon.com, eBay, and Expedia. Every purchase initiated through the Shop for the Library Web site generates a commission for the Woodland Public Library.

"We have a clear choice in this economy - cut back or fight back," says library director Marie Bryan. "We're fighting. We got a grant to cover the costs of setting up Shop for the Library, and now all proceeds we raise will go to support services to the public."

Shop for the Library works with online merchants who agree to give the library a percentage, between 2 and 55 percent, of all sales referred from the Shop for the Library Web site. "Folks pay the same price whether they go through Shop for the Library or directly to the merchant's Web site," says Bryan. "So we're hoping library supporters will take an extra second or two and use the Shop for the Library portal."

Bryan is particularly optimistic about the fundraising potential of the library's own boutique on Shop for the Library, which offers cards, posters, and apparel items based on images from local archives. "People love browsing our Woodland history collection, and now they can buy greeting cards and T-shirts with some of our most popular images."

http://www.shopforthelibrary.net