Wicomico Public Library is honored to accept a tremendous $1 million gift from the Perdue family and the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation toward the forthcoming Paul S. Sarbanes Library, currently under construction on Schumaker Pond. This major donation will establish the Perdue Family Knowledge Center at the new library, the central piece of the building where the main collections of books and other materials will be displayed and circulated.
The gift exemplifies the Perdue family’s longstanding dedication to, and support of, our community and libraries. In fact, when the Perdue Foundation began operating in 1957, their very first mission was to support libraries and fire companies.
“This project embodies the core values our family and company hold dear: a commitment to improving quality of life, strengthening communities, and believing in the potential of every person,” said Jim Perdue, the third-generation leader of his family business, Perdue Farms. “Both my grandfather, Arthur, and my father, Frank, understood a fundamental truth — when people have access to information and education, entire communities thrive.”
The donation marks a major milestone for the library’s Building Our Library Together capital campaign. The Perdue family’s and Perdue Foundation’s support provided the final push for the campaign to reach its fundraising goal for construction of the new library, set to open in Summer 2027.
“The impact of both Perdue as a business and the Perdue family has been so critical to our region,” said Marty Neat, Board Chair of the Friends Foundation of Wicomico Public Library. “It’s very appropriate that their support is such a key part of the Library campaign’s success.”
For more information on Wicomico Public Library’s Building Our Library Together campaign, please visit www.wicomicolibrary.org/campaign.
end scene, and cut to the homeless watching porn on the public library computers …