National Friends of Libraries Week

Friends of Libraries groups now have their very own national week of celebrations. FOLUSA (Friends of Libraries U.S.A.) is coordinating the second annual Friends of Libraries Week, October 21-27, 2007. The celebration offers a two-fold opportunity to celebrate local Friends Groups. Use the time to creatively promote your group in your community, raise awareness of their activities, and promote membership. This is also an excellent opportunity for your library and board of trustees to recognize the Friends for their ongoing help and support.

One of many ideas from the FOLUSA website is to ask your patrons, board, or staff to write "love letters" to your Friends Group and post them throughout the library.

Here’s a neat idea from Dubuque. The Friends of the Carnegie-Stout Public Library in Dubuque have embarked on an eBay auction program for some of the older and more collectible items they receive. As with all other Friends' funds, the proceeds from eBay sales will be used to support library programs, collections, and other needs not currently met by the library’s operating budget. To see a list of items currently up for auction by the Dubuque Friends Group, click here: Current Items for Auction on eBay.

Armstrong PL has done a variation of this idea, but with an individual patron offering to sell the books on eBay and return the profits to the library. No doubt others have gotten in on this action, too. For more Friends Group promotional ideas, visit the national website FOLUSA (Friends of Libraries U.S.A.)