Neda Ulaby can recount her summers in Lawrence as a child swimming and then crossing Kentucky Street to read books — often about insects — at the Lawrence Public Library.

Today the National Public Radio arts reporter who spent a good portion of her childhood in Lawrence credits the library with her interest in reading and doing research, which ultimately led her to a career in journalism.

“I just think as somebody who loves language, libraries are just such a place of sanctuary and such a place where you become yourself and you become so many different people,” Ulaby said Friday in a phone interview. “There’s so many possibilities that open up to you when you’re a little kid in the library.”

Ulaby, who joined NPR in 2000, will return to Lawrence in two weeks to help raise funds for the library, which is one of her “absolute favorite places in the world.” She is the featured speaker at the Lawrence Public Library Foundation’s After Hours event 7 p.m. April 19 at the library, 707 Vt.

The event will raise funds for improvements and renovations to the library’s building. Due to tough economic times, plans to expand or move to a new building are on hold.

But library leaders say the event is crucial because demand for services and materials continues to increase with 650 new library cards issued in February. The fundraiser aims to help expand the computer center, meeting room space and to improve the young adult and children’s sections.

“We’d love for it to be a big splash, but our main thing is we’d really like to raise awareness and get people there and learn about the needs of the library,” said Kathleen Morgan, development director for the Lawrence Public Library Foundation.

After a social hour and library tours, Ulaby will take the auditorium stage at 8 p.m. for an interview with Laura Lorson, host of Kansas Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”

Tickets for the event cost $45 per person in advance and $50 at the door. Reservations can be made online at www.lawrencepubliclibrary.org.

The co-chairman for the event is Lawrence attorney Web Golden, an original member of the foundation. The co-chairwoman is his wife, Joan Golden, vice president of US Bank in Lawrence.

Ulaby attended Broken Arrow School and one year at South Junior High. She also attended preschool at the Lawrence Community Nursery School and Small World program. Her parents, Fawwaz Ulaby and Mary Ann Hammond, then moved the family in 1980 to Ann Arbor, Mich.

The event will mark the end of National Library Week. Ulaby said she will be thrilled to return to Lawrence to talk about the importance of public access to books and materials even during changing times.

“The essential function of a library has remained the same,” Ulaby said. “It is a place where people can go to seek information and to seek it within a kind of structure and for information to be curated and taken care of and disseminated widely. It’s a place where people grow.”