Suggested donations were $30 per person or $50 per couple or family, and funds raised from the event are set to go toward the library’s operating budget.

Attendees munched on snacks and drank wine and beer as they put down bids for items ranging from a gift certificate to Beggar’s Banquet, 218 Abbot Road, to an MSU football poster autographed by head coach Mark Dantonio.

Sparty made an appearance, and local television personality Jason Colthorp hosted the event.

Library Director Kristin Shelley said she was thrilled by the outpouring of community support.

“This is a very important night for the East Lansing Public Library,” she told the crowd.

Shelley said the library serves an important role in the community, providing residents with a deeply enriched quality of life and increased educational opportunities.

But the library finds itself in the midst of a looming budget struggle as the library’s costs rise.

Shelley told the crowd that 10 staff positions have not been filled since January 2011, and the library also is cutting down subscriptions to magazines.

To address those broader budget concerns, the East Lansing City Council authorized City Manager George Lahanas to include a one-mill levy to support the library in the city’s preliminary 2012-13 fiscal year budget at its March 27 meeting.

Members also authorized Lahanas and the city attorney to draft a resolution to place an additional millage on the November ballot.

Councilmember Don Power, who attended the event Friday, said residents will respond positively to calls for support given the strong showing at the fundraiser.

“I’m absolutely elated,” he said. “I felt very strongly that this kind of support was in the community.”

MSU alumnus Mike Gooding drove up from Kalamazoo for the evening to support the library.

Gooding put in bids for various pieces of MSU sports memorabilia and hoped to walk away a winner.

“Every library in Michigan has funding issues,” he said. “It’s just a nice thing to do.”