The staff of Forsyth County Public Library (FCPL) would like to recognize and thank the FCPL Friends and Advocates as part of the 19th annual National Friends of Libraries Week, October 20-26, 2024.
Since the FCPL Friends and Advocates were established in 1995, they have raised nearly $750,000 through used book sales, membership fees, and other donations to fund special programs, materials, and resources beyond the library's budget.
The Friends are an all-volunteer organization with over 100 volunteers and they provide an important service to the Forsyth County Community by accepting and selling gently used books and media at all four of our locations, seven days a week. In addition to providing one of the lowest cost options for used books in our area, the Friends’ work diverts over 50,000 books from entering Forsyth County’s waste stream each year through their partnership with Better World Books.
“In addition to the tremendous amount of organization and physical work it takes to receive and sort donations and manage unsellable items, our Friends and Advocates group has been especially wonderful this year. In addition to the generous funding they provide annually, the Friends also made a significant donation in support of an outdoor reading area at the Denmark Library. This area will be known as the Friends Terrace and will embody the joy of reading and community demonstrated daily by our Friends,” said Library Director Anna Lyle.
The FCPL Friends and Advocates also sponsor the Library’s annual Forsyth Reads Together and Summer Reading Fun programs. Their generous donations have enabled FCPL to bring bestselling authors to Forsyth County, hire professional performers, and provide prize books and other incentives that have helped to increase participation and enthusiasm levels among children and teens.
“The Library had 8,040 readers participate in Summer Reading Fun this year and providing incentives for that number of patrons is no small cost. We are very fortunate to have such an active and generous Friends group supporting our library,” said Sarah Brubaker, FCPL Programming Manager. The Friends also purchase the festive Summer Reading Fun t-shirts our staff wear to help promote summer reading awareness.
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| Friends volunteers at the Friends Volunteer Luncheon at Sharon Forks Library, April 2024. |
When asked about the favorite part of her job as the FCPL Friends and Advocates President, Jodie Barger said, “Making connections and watching someone’s mood change for the better. Our buyers are ages 3 to 93 and we (volunteers) enjoy finding books they want. I also like encouraging people to volunteer because I know how good it is for the soul. Being a good environmental steward is very important to me. But THE best part is knowing that our hard work provides cultural and literacy programs for EVERYONE for free.”
Forsyth County Public Library encourages everyone to join the FCPL Friends and Advocates, shop at the Friends Bookstores, and thank the Friends volunteers for all they do to make our library and community a wonderful place to live, work, play, and read.
This week the Friends are hosting their annual Bag Sale. For just $5, shoppers can purchase a Friends' paper bag and fill it to the top with any combination of adult fiction and nonfiction books, DVDs, CDs, and audiobooks!
To learn more about the FCPL Friends and Advocates, please visit ForsythPL.org/friendsAdvocates.
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