DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) – The Dallas Public Library needs $75,000 to preserve the heartfelt tributes left after five police officers were murdered on July 7, 2016.
In a video posted on the City of Dallas’ website, Library Director Jo Giudice said the items people had left are now a piece of history. “This is how the city reacted, so I think this is a true representation of Dallas, and how we react in a tragedy or crisis. The way we acted was to come together and love each other. We want to save that. We want to save these visuals.”
Officer Carlos Almeida sifted through the thousands of cards, posters, flags and items that were left outside of Dallas Police Headquarters following the tragedy. “You couldn’t step outside without getting a hug from a citizen, telling us thank you… We don’t always need a thank you, but it was nice for them to hear it. I think we needed it,” Almeida recalled.
Press release from the City of Dallas:
Four months after the tragic killings of five Dallas police officers, the Friends of the Dallas Public Library (FODPL) is mounting a fundraising campaign to preserve thousands of items left by the public in memory of the victims. The nonprofit group that supports Dallas’ 29 libraries seeks to raise $75,000 through GoFundMe.com to begin digitizing and storing the historical artifacts as the Dallas Police Memorial Archives and to make them available to the public.
Donations to the project can be made by searching for “Dallas Police Memorial Archives” at www.GoFundMe.com. Those who do not wish to donate online can contact the Friends of the Dallas Public Library at (214) 670-1458 or visit www.fodpl.org.
Dallas Public Library Director Jo Giudice said the collection will become part of the permanent holdings of the library’s History & Archives Division. “This division is also home to the President John F. Kennedy Memorial Collection, which is comprised of similar items left in Dealey Plaza following the assassination,” she said. “We believe the heartwarming response to this latest tragedy should be part of our historical collection as well.”
The money donated will enable the library to buy acid-free archival boxes to protect and preserve the artifacts, and to begin the digitization process. “This will ensure that these objects remain in our collection forever and can be shared with the world in the future,” Giudice said.
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