An article SLIS professor Jean Preer was featured in the Indianapolis Star newspaper on October 25, 2010. The article highlights positive roles of Friends of the Library organizations. Preer is a visiting scholar at the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library Foundation. In the article she discusses the IMCPL Foundation - and their Friends of the Library efforts. Excerpts from the article are included here:
Will You be a Friend? Library is Calling
"At a time when libraries across the country are suffering financial woes yet experiencing increased use, Friends of the Library make possible library programs and services beyond the basics of the operating budget."
"Andrew Carnegie, shrewd businessman and avid proponent of self-education, counted libraries among the best investments that a person of wealth could make. But his commitment to the construction of public libraries depended, too, on volunteer effort and community support. Local volunteers organized committees to draft a convincing appeal for a Carnegie grant. To qualify, a community had to donate the site on which the public library would be built and to pledge annual funding equal to a 10th of Carnegie's gift. In a decade, the community's ongoing support would equal his original donation. The efforts of Indiana library advocates were richly rewarded. With 165 libraries built with Carnegie funds between 1901 and 1917, including five in Indianapolis, Indiana had more than any other state by far."
"Since it was established in 1974, the Friends of the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library have supported library programs through their annual membership… In good times and bad, the support of Friends, combined with tax dollars and private and corporate donations, makes good library service even better. Libraries today need all the Friends they can get. You can help your local public library by becoming a Friend, volunteering your time, donating what you can, and acting as an advocate to ensure the future of this essential community resource."
Posted November 30, 2010