SLO public libraries get $100,000 donation

San Luis Obispo Public Libraries will be able to get new materials thanks to a $100,000 donation from an avid reader whose bequest left the funds in her estate.

The SLO County Library Foundation received approximately $2.6 million from Susan B. Silverstein’s estate. Silverstein had no heirs, but she loved books and owned thousands of them, said foundation president Juliane McAdam.

The Silverstein bequest will allow the Foundation to provide funds now and in the coming years for new library materials.

“She gave generously to a number of arts and cultural organizations. She had donated to the Foundation the previous three years or so, so we knew her name, but the bequest came as a complete surprise,” said McAdam.

Demand for eBooks and eAudiobooks has increased about 20% annually over the last five years, and the library plans to use some of the bequest funds to add new titles to its digital collections and to fill patron suggestions. The donation was presented at a private event on June 21. County of San Luis Obispo supervisors Dawn Ortiz-Legg and Bruce Gibson also attended the presentation.