Friends for the Public Library

Who are the Friends for the Public Library and what is their mission?  From their website:

"Established in 1969, the Friends for the Public Library is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization supporting the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System.Our mission is to maintain a charitable and educational organization to support the library, to increase the library's resources, to advocate for the public library, to recycle donated materials, to stimulate use of the library's resources, and to encourage and support educational and literacy programs through the library."

You could become a Friend!  The Friends are always looking for volunteers - they need the help of hundreds of volunteers each year for advocacy, outreach, to staff the monthly used book sales, and more! Pick up a volunteer application at your local branch library, or call Melissa Carlisle, Administrative Coordinator, at 505-768-5167 (TTY users call 800-659-8331).

The Friends primary fund-raising activity is  book sales, which raise approximately $150,000 annually. Your donations to the library of gently used books and more make up most of what is for sale by the Friends. The Friends maintain the Main Library Bookshop and run the monthly used book sales at Main Library - the 2013 schedule is featured below!  In addition, ten branches have a Fiction to Go display - check out your branch's website to see if they are one of the ten! 

2013
Saturday
Book Sales

January 12

February 9

March 9

April 13

May 11

June 8

July 13

August 10

September 14

October 12

November 9

December 14

Sunday
Clearance
Sales

May 12

November 10

If you wish to donate items to the library, please view the Friends' Donation Guidelines. Small donations (a couple bags or less) can be dropped off during regular hours at any branch library except Ernie Pyle, Special Collections, or Westgate. The Friends recommend that larger donations be delivered to Main Library, and suggest calling (505)768-5167 to make an appointment for donations of 10 or more boxes.  Don't forget to get an Acknowledgement of Donation at the time of drop-off - your donation is  tax-deductible, though library staff are are unable to assign a dollar value to your donation.  We thank you for donating!

For more information about the Friends, try:

Friends for the Public Library website 

About the Friends

Volunteer!

Book Sales info

Become a Friend!

Established in 1969, the Friends for the Public Library is a nonprofit organization supporting the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System. The Board of Directors of the Friends annually allocates money to enhance library services to benefit the community, including providing funding for:

• Annual citywide Summer Reading Program for childen and young adults.


• Community Outreach and Family Literacy Program.


• Cultural and literary events at branch libraries.


• Specialized training and development for professional staff.


• Center for the Book- a self-guided educational exhibit on the history of books and printing.

The primary fundraising activity of the Friends is their booksales, including Monthly Used Booksales, the Main Library Bookshop, and ‘Fiction to Go’ kiosks at nine of the 17 branches. Most of the books for sale at all these locations are from kind donations from library customers!

How can you help? The Friends need the help of hundreds of volunteers every year. Volunteer opportunities include:

• Advocacy- help make local, county and state officials aware of the importance of our library system.


• Community Outreach- help develop and implement Family Literacy Programs.


• Development- help us raise more funds in support of the Library system.


• Main Library Bookshop- work several hours, one or more days a week.


• Membership- help us recruit more Friends like you.


• Pricing and Sorting- prepare books for sale, working one or more days a week.


• Serve on our Board of Directors and in committee positions.


• Used Book Sales- second Saturday of every month

To join the Friends, or for more information, check out their website.

The American Way of Volunteering

Earlier this year, the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System had a visitor from Germany. Beate Hoerning was traveling across the U.S. by train, interviewing volunteers in American public libraries in a search "to find historical, sociological, mental and economic roots and reasons for the very successful 'American Way of Volunteering.'" She hoped to bring some of the lessons she learned with us back to Europe, where volunteering is not as popular.

Read her story as she travels from New York to Los Angeles in ALA's International Leads publication.