A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to raise $20 million for a new library at LSU.

"It is time the alumni of Louisiana State University took matter into our own hands," organizers said.

The effort surfaced on the same week that the current structure -- Middleton Library -- was cited as an example of campus neglect at the same time LSU announced the opening of a nearly $28 million, privately-funded athletic nutrition center and football locker room.

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Middleton has suffered from water leaks and other problems for years.

It is become sort of a symbol of capital needs at the school amid years of paltry state assistance during financial problems.

The fundraising effort was started by Ginger Gibson Burk, a 2008 LSU graduate who lives in Arlington, Va. and works in Washington, D. C.

"I know $20 million is an ambitious goal, but we need to send a message to the university that alumni are paying attention, that we care and that we want to see improvements," Burk said in an email.

LSU's long-term planning includes a new library at a different location.

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What it would cost is unclear but LSU officials said it is well over $20 million.

Backers said 240,000 students have passed through Middleton Library in the past half century.

"If each one of us can donate $25 we can raise $6 million toward a new library," according to the GoFundMe page.

A total of $355 had been raised Thursday morning.

The money would go to the LSU Foundation, the school's chief academic fundraising arm.

It is tax deductible.

Sara Whittaker, a spokeswoman for the foundation, said while the group does not have any GoFundMe campaigns officials are working to connect with the organizer.

"Every gift we receive is directed by the donor to the fund of their choice; each is restricted to the purpose of that fund,"Whittaker said in an email.

In theory, money raised through the campaign could then be deposited with the foundation by one person.

For more information go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/LSU-Needs-A-New-Library.