ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


7 28/C&RL News

NCSU entrepreneurs aim  
high

By Jin n ie  Y. Davis

T-shirt sales turn into cash f o r  the 
libraries’ u n d e rfu n d e d  program s

a
R ecent budget cuts at the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Libraries focused 
 great deal o f attention on the need for sup­

port of collections purchases. Generating less 
publicity were behind-the-scenes needs such 
as the NCSU Libraries’ inadequate funding for 
preservation efforts and for staff development 
activities. Three library staff members— Nancy 
Gibbs (chair o f the Preservation Committee), 
Carmen Wijeyasingha (vice-president o f the 
library’s staff association), and Annis Barbee 
(staff association president)— seized the ini­
tiative to carry out a fundraising schem e for 
these two projects.

The three entrepreneurs gained the support 
o f the library administration to create and sell

A n n is B a rb e e , N an cy  Gibbs, an d  C a rm e n  W ijey a
s in g h a  w e a r  th e  t-s h irts  th e y  d e v e lo p e d  .

library souvenirs, with the proceeds going to 
the Preservation Fund and the Staff Develop­
ment Fund, which were attempting to reach 
endowment level. In fall 1993, with support 
from the Friends o f the Library, they received 
seed  m oney w hich they agreed to repay 
through sales profits. Within two months they 
had produced five lines of sale items: t-shirts in 
three different colors, a mug, and a canvas bag, 
all based on the libraries’ colorful logo.

By timing their sales during the pre-Christ­
mas season and at the Friends o f the Library ’s 
annual book sale, the staff members quickly 
exceeded their sales expectations. Based on 
continued demand for current and new prod­
ucts, they will diversify their product line with 
the addition of sweatshirts, a cardboard sun­
shade, and another t-shirt.

Gibbs and Wijeyasingha attribute their suc­
cess to using a very attractive logo on quality 
merchandise. They also explain: “We adver­

tised in a variety o f ways, kept our stock sup­
plies small, and had tremendous response 
from the library community. We hope to con­
tinue this trend in the future with additional 
items, and we hope to exceed our fundraising 
goals.” With marketing savvy, they bolstered 
sales efforts by promotional tactics such as 
running photographs and order forms in the 
library newsletter, setting up a display of their 
wares in a library exhibit case, and obtaining 
permission from the university to set up a 
kiosk on the campus Brickyard, as well as in 
the branch libraries, in the spring.

The two funds benefiting from these sales 
are certainly worthy of the effort. According 
to Gibbs, “Existing funds for preservation are 

­ limited and, with this effort, we are able to 
(NCSU cont. on page 750)

Jinnie Y. Davis is assistant director for planning and research, North Carolina State University Libraries, 
Raleigh; e-mail: jinnie_davis@ncsu.edu

mailto:jinnie_davis@ncsu.edu


D ecem ber 1994 /  729