Library is getting new mystery books
Humboldt Library Foundation's Sally Upatisringa Mystery Fund makes donation to library
“We have three donor-advised funds at HLF that direct funding to specific areas of the collection. “… Otherwise, HLF generally supports acquisition of materials across the collection, but most recently beefing up adult non-fiction, young adult, and with an emphasis this year on the audio-visual collection and electronic resources.”
— Elizabeth Murguia, president, Humboldt Library Foundation Board of Directors
Sally Upatisringa loved mystery books when she was a child, and, as an adult, checked out those same titles at the Humboldt County Library with such ferocity that her husband, Vis Upatisringa, established the Sally Upatisringa Mystery Fund in 2013 to keep new books coming.
“She especially enjoyed the genre for nuance of place and history and reading pleasure,” said friend Elizabeth Murguia, who also serves as president of the Humboldt Library Foundation’s board of directors.
The Humboldt Library Foundation was formed in 1996 to build financial support for the Humboldt County Library system, which includes the Eureka Main Library, 10 branches and a bookmobile that serves 14 rural communities. The foundation raises funds in the community and makes direct annual grants to the library to help purchase new materials, add programming and provide technology upgrades. Since its inception, the foundation has provided over $1.4 million in grants to the library.
Sally Upatisringa, who died in June 2019, was devoted to the mission of the public library and led the campaign to raise funds to build the Eureka Main Library, Murguia said. She was also a co-founder of the Humboldt Library Foundation. The Sally Upatisringa Mystery Fund is one of the funds the foundation has that supports the library.
“We have three donor-advised funds at HLF that direct funding to specific areas of the collection,” Murguia said. “… Otherwise, HLF generally supports acquisition of materials across the collection, but most recently beefing up adult nonfiction, young adult, and with an emphasis this year on the audio-visual collection and electronic resources.”
The Humboldt Library Foundation recently presented a $1,300 check to the Humboldt County Library from the Sally Upatisringa Mystery Fund to further expand its mystery collection. To date, $5,000 from that fund has been used to purchase new books for the county’s library system.
“What a great gift it is to honor Sally Upatisringa, a library advocate and supporter with a passion for mystery books,” said Humboldt County Library Acting Director Chris Cooper.
The mystery book collection is indeed popular at the library, said Michael Logan, director of Acquisitions and Technical Services
at the Humboldt County Library.
“Sally Upatisringa loved a mystery, I love them and thousands of Humboldt County readers love them,” Logan said. “Whether you like them cozy or hard-boiled, we’re honored to be able to add a little mystery to life thanks to this generous endowment from Sally’s family and the Humboldt Library Foundation.”
A few of the new books recently purchased with the funds include the latest in the Kate Carlisle “Bibliophile Mystery” series, “The Grim Reader,” about murder at a local book fair and Vaseem Khan’s “Bad Day at the Vulture Club,” set in Mumbai, India, he said.
“It’s wonderful to be able to get more mysteries for the library,” Logan said. “… People love a puzzle and pitting their wits against a clever detective (professional, private or amateur) is a great way to escape the often-unresolved mysteries of the real world.”
For more information about the Humboldt Library Foundation and the various ways to support the county’s library system, visit www.humboldtlibraryfoundation.org or call 707269-1991.