During the week of 17-23 October, the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF) is coordinating the fifth annual National Friends of Libraries Week.
This observance is designed as a two-fold opportunity to celebrate. Friends of libraries groups use the time to promote their group in the community, to raise awareness, and to promote membership. The celebration also offers an opportunity for library staff and board members to recognize the Friends for their help and support of the library.
In a 2006 survey of association members, 754 respondents reported raising more than $11 million dollars to support libraries with an average annual donation of more than $50,000. Eighty percent of respondents indicated they support their library through advocacy efforts with primary focus on local or municipal government and the general public. The top three goals were to prevent cuts to library budget, increase library budget, and general public awareness. Friends also support their library by coordinating programs, volunteering in the library, promoting the library in the community, and advocating for libraries on the state and national level.
In preparation for this observance, ALTAFF created public service announcements with ALTAFF national spokesperson Paula Poundstone, in which Poundstone explains her “unbalanced relationship” with her public library until she joined the Friends to help raise money for her local library. “It’s funny that we think of libraries as quiet demure places where we are shushed by dusty, bun-balancing, bespectacled women,” said Poundstone. “The truth is libraries are raucous clubhouses for free speech, controversy and community. Librarians have stood up to the Patriot Act, sat down with noisy toddlers, and reached out to illiterate adults. Libraries can never be shushed.”
To access the Paula Poundstone PSAs, please visit:
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