Hey Kids!

The end-of-the-fiscal-year crunch is finally over and I have a moment to breathe. And write! This week, I’m giving you guys a Brash way to contribute to your local library. That’s right, you can donate money to support your libraries. Without ever having to spend an extra dime.

How is that possible, you ask? Read on!

As some of you know, my library system – along with a list of others – is part of the North Eastern Florida Library Information Network (NEFLIN for short). NEFLIN is a non-profit library cooperative providing members access to ongoing training, continuing education, resource sharing, along with opportunities for research and development, partnerships, grant funding, leadership positions, and additional services through relationships with their sister organizations. Here’s a handy map showing the Panhandle Library Access Network (PLAN), the Tampa Bay Library Consortium (TBLC), the South Western Florida Library Information Network (SWFLIN) and the South Eastern Florida Library Information Network (SEFLIN), to help you find your library!

See? It’s color-coded and everything.

How much can one network cover, you ask? Here’s what NEFLIN covers alone:

Alachua County Library District
Alachua County Public Schools
Baptist Health Medical Library
Bradford County Public Library
Bradford County School District
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University – Hunt Library
College of Central Florida
City College, Gainesville Branch
Clay County District Schools
Clay County Public Library
Columbia County Public Library
Diocese of St. Augustine
Duval County Law Library
Duval County Public Schools
Edward Waters College
Emily Taber Public Library
Episcopal School of Jacksonville
Florida State College – Jacksonville
FL. Dept. of Agriculture/Div. of Plant Industry
Flagler College Library
Flagler County Public Library
Florida Coastal School of Law
Everest University – Jacksonville
Everest University – Orange Park
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida
ITT Technical Institute Library
Jacksonville Public Library
Jacksonville University
Jones College Library
Keiser University Library – Jacksonville
Florida Gateway College
Levy County Public Library
Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida
Marion County Public Library System
Marion County Public Schools
Brevard County Library System
Nassau County Public Library
Nassau County School District
New River Public Library Cooperative
North Florida Community College
North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health Systems
Putnam County Library System
Putnam County Public Schools
Santa Fe College
St. Johns Country Day School
St. Johns County Public Library
St. Johns River State College
St. Vincent’s Medical Library
Sumter County Public Library
Suwannee River Regional Library
Three Rivers Regional Library
Trinity Baptist College
UF Legal Information Center
Union County Public Library
University of Florida
University of North Florida
University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences
Rasmussen College
Nemours Children’s Clinic Medical Library
Florida Technical College – DeLand
Florida Institute of Technology – Evans Library
Everglades University – Altamonte Spings
Volusia County Public Library
Altamonte Springs City Library
Stetson University – DuPont Ball Library
Seminole State College of Florida
Eastern Florida State College
NASA Kennedy Space Center
Bethune-Cookman University
Keiser University – Daytona Beach
Art Institute of Jacksonville
University of Southernmost Florida – Jacksonville

Pretty big list, right? Again, that’s just one network. ONE.

“Excuse me, Justin, but you still haven’t mentioned how I can help NEFLIN without spending an extra dime.”

I’m getting there! As mentioned, NEFLIN are very good about partnerships; one of their larger partners would be Amazon.com! By visiting NEFLIN’s partner site first (www.neflin.org/amazon) before shopping, NEFLIN will receive a portion of your purchases off Amazon. If clicking the link doesn’t work, directly typing it into your address bar should do the trick. Okay, guy in the back…ask your questions.

“Will NEFLIN see what I’m buying off Amazon?”

No. NEFLIN will have no idea that you bought a zebra print Snuggie.

“Will NEFLIN know I gave them money?”

No. NEFLIN will not know anything. They won’t know who is giving them money, what you bought, or anything. They’ll simply take their portion, smile, and go about their merry day helping library professionals.

“So all I have to do is visit their site first, shop Amazon like I usually do, and they get a portion of my money?”

YES, it’s that simple. You literally just supported your local library by spending money that you were planning to spend anyway. Don’t forget to support Brash Librarian by following me on here by clicking that button that says “Follow” over there on the right ———> and liking me on Facebook. I’ve only got like 18 followers on here yet my Facebook page has over a hundred…What’s up with that?

Now get shopping. Don’t forget to bookmark their page for when Black Friday rolls around!

Shop Brashly,

Justin Brasher, Brash Librarian