Neilson Hays Library is tucked away on a quiet corner of Surawong and you could easily miss it. But this century-old library is a favorite place for readers, expats, and international families that love the facility’s 17,000 English language books, music evenings, holiday celebrations, and story time for kids on the weekends.
It’s also been the venue for many a party and stylish wedding. However, the building has seen better days since it opened its doors in 1922 and now has holes in its floors, broken bookcases, damaged roof tiles, drainage issues, and air flow problems.
To respond to the building’s needs, the board of the library has teamed up with up-and-coming crowdfunding platform Asiola to preserve the architectural gem.
An iconic neo-classical design by Italian architect Mario Tamagno, the necessary repairs to the library will cost THB10 million. The library’s board has already raised some of the funds via their partners, and now they’re appealing to the public to chip in.
They decided to launch The Neilson Hays Library Conservation Project on new Thai arts crowdfunding platform Asiola. The up-and-coming crowdfunding platform focuses on innovative or community-focused projects and loves to work on initiatives that will benefit Thailand in some way.
They have already collaborated with hot Thai music acts Yellow Fang and Thaitanium as well as starchitect Duangrit Bunnag.
And netizens are showing the old library much love. The campaign only launched on Wednesday but it’s already raised THB208,000 from 80 supporters.
Much like American platform Indiegogo, supporters aren’t just sending funds. They can also choose a reward for their giving and the facility gets their donation even if the goal number isn’t met. In the Neilson Hays drive, you can donate THB3,000 and get a one-year membership to the library, THB10,000 will get you a shelf adoption and THB50,000 will get you a 20-year membership. Supporters are also free to donate any amount they can spare.
It’s great to see this campaign trend as crowdfunding in Thailand does not seem to have completely found its footing yet. Maybe that’s because many Thais are still not used to purchasing online. One thing Asiola totally gets right is the many ways that people can donate toward products. They support credit cards, Paypal, online banking transfer and over the counter payments.
