Public Library E-Book fans have something to celebrate thanks to Brad Rutter, all-time Jeopardy! Champion! This year Rutter contributed $5300 to the Library System for the purchase of e-Books that are available on the OverDrive online platform to public library card holders. The former Lancaster County native has been contributing funds for the past eight years through his Lancaster County Community Foundation donor-designated fund to benefit the Public Libraries in Lancaster County. The only stipulation by Rutter is that the funds he donates be used to support technology-based services that will benefit a broader audience of library users throughout the county.
Public Library Directors expressed a need to enhance the existing E-Book selections available for public download on any of the public library websites. Circulation statistics from 2012 – 2016 indicate a significant rise in usage that point to the popularity of downloadable e-Books. The most recent statistics (2016) indicated that 147,451 e-Books were downloaded from OverDrive.
For the past four years Rutter’s donations were used for the purchase of e-Books. E-Books are available for downloading online by users who have a Lancaster County Public Library card. To access the OverDrive platform that also includes audiobooks, visit: http://lancasterlibraries.lib.overdrive.com includes audiobooks, visit: https://libbyapp.com/library/lancasterlibraries
Brad Rutter’s story…
Brad Rutter is a Lancaster County PA native and long-time public library user who earned the distinction as All-time Jeopardy! Champion in 2005. He credits his record-breaking success on Jeopardy! to a passion for reading that started with his early visits to the public library. It is no surprise that Brad decided to name public libraries in his hometown as beneficiaries of his success. In 2005 Brad set up a donor-designated fund with the Lancaster County Community Foundation. His intention was to have the fund support public libraries in the purchase of technology that would enhance library services countywide. Rutter who is passionate about libraries sees the funding of library services as a way to give back to the community that will benefit readers and library users, “I am proud to have the benefit of ever-changing, improving technology to assist readers of all ages at the libraries.” He foresees technology programs as keeping libraries on the cutting edges as essential community resources. About his generosity to public libraries, he states, “I want to experience the impact of my giving now, while I’m young and while I can see the results.”
# # #