AUBURN — Red Sox fans, golfers and would-be beer brewers are among the targets for the Auburn Public Library’s newest fundraising effort.
The library is hosting an online auction, available via a link on the library’s website, www.auburnpubliclibrary.org or directly at www.32auctions.com/apl.
Library Director Mamie Ney said she hopes to raise $4,000. As of noon Wednesday, the auction had generated $3,400 in bids.
“It’s going to be part of our annual campaign for programming, materials and part of our operating budget,” Ney said.
The city pays the bulk of the library’s $1.2 million budget and the library’s board is responsible for the remaining $240,000. That money comes from fundraising.
The online auction opened Monday and runs through June 14. Bidders have their choice of 37 items. As of Wednesday afternoon, all the bids fell below the listed retail value of the items.
“Normally, it depends on the item, but they can go well beyond their retail value,” she said. “We have several that are very close to their retail value. It just depends on what people are interested in. We’ve tried to give them a wide variety.”
Items include a $100 gift certificate to Agren Appliance, a round of golf at the nine-hole Pine Acres Golf Course on Route 4 in Auburn, one set of green fees for a foursome at Poland Spring Resort golf course and another at Martindale Country Club in Auburn. It also includes car-detailing packages at Evergreen Subaru in Auburn, and gift certificates to DaVinci’s Eatery and to Fish Bones American Grill, both in Lewiston.
Ney said she thinks two tickets to the Red Sox game against the New York Yankees will generate a lot of interest. As of Wednesday afternoon, seven people had bid up to $425 for the two seats on the Green Monster for the Sept. 2 game. The tickets were donated by the Maine Real Estate Network.
Baxter Brewing Co. in Lewiston has put two items on the list, one for a private tour of the brewery and beer tasting for up to 10 people. The second invites the bid winner to become an apprentice brewer for a day.
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