About LALE
Encourage Intellectual Exploration
The Los Altos Library Endowment (LALE) was established with the desire to support our community to maintain a library that meets the needs of everyone. Back in the 1990s, a funding campaign was established to improve the Los Altos Library's balance between traditional literature and timely scientific, medical and technological materials. One of the gifts provided was an initial endowment to establish LALE.
One Woman’s Vision
Virginia Whipple grew up in rural New York state and was an English major at Syracuse University. Her career was focused on words. A technical editor for 34 years, she spent a decade working for the U.S. Navy and Central Intelligence Agency in Washington, DC. In 1957, she moved to the Bay Area to work at Lockheed. Ginnie, as she was more commonly known, had a love for the written word and for the library. One of her last requests was to bequeath $2.8 million to the Los Altos Library. It remains the largest single gift ever received by the Santa Clara County Library system.
The Whipple Collection comprises a comprehensive set of course offerings from The Teaching Company. A collection of audio and video CDs, now numbering over 1200, it was created and is kept current by grants from the Endowment. Access the collection online today!
Our Board
LALE is governed by an all-volunteer Board of Directors.