History
The St. Tammany Library Foundation was established in 2006, shortly after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast area. One community library was so severely damaged by water and wind it could no longer function as a library facility. Another was completely destroyed by tornado force winds.
The Foundation was founded as a charitable non-profit 501 [c] [3] corporation to support the St. Tammany Parish Library System in its recovery and to promote the long-range growth and development of library resources and services in the future.
A new state-of-the-art library was completed to replace one of the facilities destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and the second one is in the planning stages. The Foundation has become re-energized to focus on its broader mission, which is to build private support, enhance the visibility of the St. Tammany Library’s role in the community, and strengthen the public’s support of our library system. The St. Tammany Library Foundation’s vision is to see that our library system continues its mission of sharing the heritage of the past, and meeting the challenges of today and the future.
Governance
A volunteer community board directs the St. Tammany Library Foundation. The Board of Directors works closely with the Library staff to identify funding needs. The Foundation is separate from the Friends of the Library, although a member from the Friends may sit on the Board of the Foundation.
The Advisory Board members offer the Foundation’s Board of Directors their considerable experience to guide important decisions of the Board. The Foundation is grateful for their generosity of spirit and of time and for their commitment to the mission of libraries as resources of lifetime learning in our community.
Mission Statement
The mission of the St. Tammany Library Foundation is to promote and enrich the facilities, capabilities and resources of the entire library system by seeking donations from corporations, community groups, philanthropic organizations and individual donors. Gifts to the Foundation complement but do not supplant public funding for the St. Tammany Parish Library system.
Technology and the growth of information throughout the centuries have compounded the need for library support. Now more than ever, patrons – from infants to the aged – seek library services. The gap between public funding and library services has widened. The St. Tammany Library Foundation’s purpose is to see that our library system has the resources to provide our community with enhanced collections, enlarged data bases, up-to-date technology, and numerous occasions for lifelong learning opportunities.
The St. Tammany Library Foundation is a separate legal entity from the St. Tammany Parish Library. The St. Tammany Parish Library Board of Control depends on public funding to maintain its operations and services. The Foundation is a 501 [c] [3] organization that seeks private sector support to develop and to enhance the entire St. Tammany library system. All donations to the St. Tammany Library Foundation are tax deductible.
Foundation Board
Chase Villeret, President
Herb Hamilton, First Vice President
Mary Lea, Second Vice President
Scott Scheffy, Treasurer
Charlene Mediamolle, Corresponding Secretary/Membership Chairman
William J. Nunez III, PhD, Parliamentarian
Suzanne Myers, Immediate Past President
Members-At-Large
Rhonda Simmons
Mary Beth Lambert
Sheila Dugger
Patricia Farris
Adele Nunez
Deborah Walker
Gayle Centanni
Martha Tedesco
Kay McKissock
Amy Strain, Library Representative
Advisory Board Members
Mary Jane Becker
The Honorable Lane Carson
The Honorable Mike Cooper
Marie Louise Guste Nix
Betty Viener
Ann Shaw
Benefactors
Northshore Plastic Surgery LLC
Samuel & Judy Camp