Culture
Culture Editor: Katelin Pompa – xzgw@iup.edu Lead Culture Writer: Haley Brown – tbfx@iup.edu
(Case Marshall/The Penn)
Stabley Library to receive $135,000 donation from former director.
IUP libraries receives generous donation EVA TILLICH Contributing Writer jxsbc@iup.edu @ThePennIUP
Former Director of Libraries William Lafranchi made a $135,000 donation to Stabley Library to support scholarships and the library. The donation will benefit the library in numerous ways. It will help provide them with resources and materials. Additionally, the donation established the William E. and Sylvia P. Martin Lafranchi Sutton Scholarship. “This investment in our program will allow us to expand and enhance the services and collections we provide in support of IUP’s teaching, learning and research mission,” Dean of the IUP Libraries Dr. Erik Nordberg said. The IUP libraries are extremely thankful for the gift and support from Lafranchi. “As a former library leader, Mr. Lafranchi understands the core value of the library to the university, yet he also realizes that libraries continue to evolve, particularly through technology,” Nordberg said. The William E. and Sylvia P. Mar-
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tin Lafranchi Sutton Scholarship will help student pursuing degrees in nursing. It also created the William E. and Sylvia P. Martin Lafranchi Library Endowment. In addition, some of the donation will go toward the Dr. Tony Atwater and Dr. Beverly Roberts Atwater Presidential Scholars Fund. This fund provides support for freshmen at IUP. High achieving students can potentially be awarded the Sutton Scholarship based on an application, GPA and SAT scores. “Support for scholarships is critical to helping us to continue to recruit and retain academically promising students at IUP,” Vice President for Enrollment Management Patricia McCarthy said. “We see so many deserving students with so much financial need. We are very grateful for gifts that help our students fund their education.” Lafranchi, a Brookville native, earned a master’s degree from the University of Illinois in Library Science. Afterward, he started his career at Clarion High School as a librarian. He then joined IUP in 1953 where he worked as the director of IUP libraries and media services. He spent 33 years in this role and later
retired in 1986. “The very existence of life demands that certain strategies exist,” Lafranchi said. “Libraries and information systems, plus artificial intelligence, all are the introduction to shared enhancements to the world as learning.” There are four libraries that collectively make up the IUP Libraries. The branches are the Stapleton/ Stabley building, the Orendorff Music Library, the Punxsutawney Regional Library and the Northpointe Regional Library. The Stapleton/Stabley building serves as IUP’s central library. Additionally, the Stapleton/Stabley building houses the main book and archive collections, services, resources and more. The services and resources are shared amongst the different branches through a union catalog. This donation from the Lafranchis is a part of the Imagine Unlimited Campaign. The Imagine Unlimited Campaign is IUP’s $75 million project that lets IUP advance as a national leader by enhancing students’ experiences through scholarships, new and modern facilities and various programs.
November 4, 2020
A student picking out a book.
(The Penn)
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