With less money coming in from Sharon city government, the Community Library of the Shenango Valley needs help from citizens to keep the doors open and programs running.

“The library provides a vital link to worlds near and far for thousands of people in our area,” reads a letter from the library board of trustees signed by secretary Jane Sham.

The trustees have kicked off a three-year pledge drive to try and raise money to help run the library, which became a private, non-profit organization in March 2007. Private donations make up 25 percent of the library’s budget.

“We need to rely on people who believe in the library,” said trustee Stella Perrine.

“The reason I’m involved and the reason I think it’s so important is to me a library is a place where people can help themselves,” she said.

She said many use the library’s resources to look for jobs, college information or just to learn about the world. A lot of people in the community don’t have the money to go to the bookstore and buy books or would just rather share them, Mrs. Perrine said.

Parents bring their children to the library for books, programs or to use the computers. Parents of children stationed overseas with the military use the public Internet access to communicate with their loved ones. Elderly people with failing eyesight use the many audiobooks available at the library.

It is home to the Mercer County Genealogical Society, which meets every week and helps people search their family histories.

The library houses a grantmaker database for area non-profits and others to search for funding for their organizations. And it offers DVDs, videos, music CDs and books for cardholders to borrow for free.

In one month this year, 9,653 patrons passed through the library doors and checked out 5,899 items, according to the letter. During the same month, 22 programs were offered for a variety of interests and ages.

Programs range from one where children practice their reading skills by reading aloud to trained therapy dogs to weekly book discussion and writers groups and a chess club.

“We are doing a lot of things,” library director Amy Geisinger said, adding that they’re revamping the library Web site and trying to expand outreach programs. “We’re a building that has all the books, but we’re so much more.”

Trustees recently mailed out 1,000 letters to past donors seeking their support, Mrs. Perrine said. Because the library has to pay for postage, they weren’t able to send mailings to everyone in the valley.

The hope is that if the drive gets enough support during the three-year window, then the library can build a donor base and buy time to look for grants to help fund operations and programs, Mrs. Perrine said.

Income for the library is down almost $150,000 since 2006, but the staff and trustees have maintained the same and even better service while reducing expenses by 18 percent.