The Montgomery County Library Board of Directors hosted their second annual Monte Carlo Night as a fundraiser for the county libraries' materials funds on Thursday, June 2.

The four-hour event began at 6 p.m. on Thursday and commenced with a notable number in attendance, ready for a night full of fun and games to raise money for a great cause. For about six years now, the board has been doing something to raise funds for the library on the first Thursday in June. Last year, however, the events were taken out of the library and reimagined at Plymouth Country Club in the form of Monte Carlo Night.

Montgomery County-Norristown Library Executive Director Kathy Arnold-Yerger said that the repeat event was more than warranted. Last year the night brought in $12,000 for the libraries and the board expected a similar turnout, if not a better one, this year.

Over the past few years, Yerger said, almost $600,000 has been lost from the district's materials budget due to funding cuts. With these funding cuts representing the state of the economy, demand has increased for the free public libraries' materials and services. These June events have aimed to meet this growing demand during such difficult economic times in the system.

Yerger said that this year is less disheartening for the board. County funding will be flat (95% of municipality funding will remain) and the libraries are expecting a third flat rate from the state despite its looming threats to the education system in Pennsylvania.

The mastermind behind the event was Special Events Committee Chairperson and Library Board of Directors President Delores Davis. This is Davis’ second year organizing the Monte Carlo Night. Both Davis and board and committee member Carolyn Camper fully endorsed the event’s fun and fundraising potentials. Davis said that it was good for the board to “try something different” two years ago to raise the badly needed funds, but that the wonderful part of Monte Carlo Night was having everyone “take home a good experience.”

Yerger also reflected upon the wonderful possibilities of the evening for the library and those in attendance, but commented on her personal involvement with the event and those like it. Concerning those who attended the evening, she smiled, “It shows us how much they care,” calling the event and the experience as a whole “heartwarming.”

To pledge your support to the Montgomery-County Norristown Library, please visit their site to make a donation.