Crowd funding in libraries: by the people and for the people

摘要

Crowd funding is a method to raise funds for a specific cause or project by asking a large number of people to donate money, usually in small amounts, and usually during a relatively short period, such as a few months. Crowd funding is done exclusively online, often with social networks, which make it easy for supporters to share a cause or project with their social networks (http:// grantspace.org). Crowd funding is a method of asking money from a large number of people rather than asking a single person or entity to fund an entire project/initiative. Organizations, businesses, trusts, associations and individuals alike can use crowd funding for any type of project, for example charitable cause, creative project, business startup, school tuition or personal expenses, and to help develop libraries and library collections and other resources (http:// grantspace.org).