The Newberry Library, one of the world’s finest institutions of knowledge on the humanities, Thursday launched its most ambitious fundraising drive in its 111-year history.
During a dinner gala dubbed “Celebrate the Newberry,” library trustees said they hope to raise $20 million in an effort to provide more public access to the Chicago library, which primarily has served as a research center for scholars, historians and writers.
Even before the launch of the campaign, trustees already had raised $10.8 million toward that goal, a Newberry spokesman said.
“With campaign support, the Newberry will continue . . . looking for new ways to engage the public and attract more diverse and wider audiences,” said Charles T. Cullen, president and librarian of the Newberry.
The library, at 60 W. Walton St., is an independent, privately funded institution that houses an extensive collection of rare books, maps and manuscripts spanning the culture of Europe and America from the late Middle Ages to the 20th Century. It is open to the public.
