Friends of the Library

THANK YOU, CUSTOMERS!

Branches May Close You've sent 35,000 emails to our legislators. Your voice has been heard by our state legislators and the Governor. The General Assembly has been deluged with emails and phone calls from library supporters.

This letter to the editor, by Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation president Corde Robinson, eloquently makes the case for restoring funding for libraries.

Budget Update: Monday, June 29
Breaking News: The Senate is expected Monday approve a seven-day interim budget that funds state government operations into the new fiscal year. Read this article.

bags On Friday, June 26 a group of passionate library supporters rallied at the State Capitol itoo urge the legislature to restore funding for libraries. Several Friends of the Library members spoke eloquently about their love for libraries, including Laura Oliver and Mary Pat Martin (pictured). Tom Dillard, a former Friends president, agreed to have the text of his remarks shared here.

Let Our Libraries Live
Tom Dillard

The proposed cuts in the state budget will severely injure most and eliminate many library budgets. Therefore our message to the state government is Let Our Libraries Live, all 251 of them.

Let our libraries continue to work as they:
•   Help citizens look up job opportunities in their community
•   Help citizens apply for jobs
•   Help citizens fill out resumes
•   Help citizens prepare for civil service exams

Let our libraries continue to teach as they:
•   Provide summer reading programs for children to keep their skills high
•   Provide after school programs
•   Provide teachers with resources they need for the class room
•   Help parents learn how best to care for their children
•   Help families learn how to budget and make a dollar stretch

Let our libraries continue to help communities build as they:
•   Provide meeting space for community meetings and events
•   Provide information about opportunities for communities to improve and grow
•   Provide resources about various interests in the communities that can improve their lot

Let our libraries continue to serve the citizens of their community as they:
•   Provide information, computers and support to all who ask
•   Provide links to the world and the future through doing research and information
•   Provide help to people solving problems they face

Let our libraries continue to inspire as they:
•   Share the vast literary resources with the community
•   Provide the tools and resources needed to help our citizens imagine, build and live their dreams
•   Provide the support needed for citizens to enrich their lives and the lives of the community

Let our libraries breathe the breath of knowledge, information and hope needed for our citizens to realize life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Let our libraries work
Let our libraries teach
Let our libraries build
Let our libraries serve
Let our libraries inspire
Let our libraries breathe
Let our libraries live – with full funding.

When you become a Friend of the Library, your membership helps to support a variety of educational and community outreach programs, including Summer Reading Club, Homework Help Centers, and Teen Read Week.

Booksales

booksales If you’d like to volunteer at the sales—and get a first look at all those books!—we’d love to have you. Tell us you’re interested, and be sure to mention your branch.

And where do we get all these books? While many are culled from the library’s collection, we also accept donations to fill the sales. Materials can be taken to any branch. See donation guidelines here.