Friends of ETLPL Annual Meeting

 

4-25-2025

Next Friday, May 2^nd, the Friends of the ETLPL will hold their Annual Meeting at 1:30. This is a great time to join the Friends for the following reasons.

Dues Collection – Best Bang for Your $10: Annual membership is $10 with all renewals due at the Annual Meeting. That means Friends who join in June donate $10 for eleven months of membership rather than twelve and the relative cost only increases as the year goes on. The best bargain is to become a lifetime member for $100 at the Annual Meeting.

Officer Voting: Members who are current in paying their dues will elect the next set of officers and directors. Since the slate of officers is established at least two weeks in advance, anyone not wishing to be on the ballot is relatively safe that first year. Even if they have persistent friends on the Friends.

Volunteer Opportunities: The Friends hold several fundraisers throughout the year of varying degrees of complexity. The two largest are the play and the book sales. Books and Bites is the only time each year all of the donated books are available for browsing and purchase. Held on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, this is the fundraiser currently with the most pressing need for volunteers. The sale is traditionally held on the side lawn under pop-up canopies. Volunteers (often husbands who are voluntold) set up the canopies and tables and carry the books outside. Other volunteers man the sale or bake before the event. Our Yarn & Stitch group has made several items from hat and scarves to stuffed animals and donated them to the sale. It’s usually a beautiful day and with $.50-1 prices on most books, the take down is much quicker.

Social Time: Although this year revisions to the Constitution and Bylaws are up for a vote, very little official business is conducted at the meeting. Members have time to socialize among themselves as well as hold more informal conversations about the group’s activities.

Food: Socializing is always more pleasant with a little something upon which to nibble. As a thank you for all that the Friends support and make possible, the library provides snacks. I just made out a list which will have me baking a fair amount this coming week finding inspiration in the food related programs we hosted this past year.

Support: The Friends have been open to supporting any need the library identifies thereby relieving stress on our tax supported budget and providing more opportunities for their community. They fund our Summer & Winter Reading Programs, Experience Passes which now number three, updated program space, and community outreach programs. The more Friends there are, the lighter the load and the bigger the difference they make.

 Reading Now: Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner (Book 4 of the Queen's Thief series)

Listening to Now: Little Women by Louise May Alcott