Friends of Library sponsor projects to provide support

An organization that has been dear to my heart for more than 20 years is the Friends of the Newberry County Library. As a member of the local organization since its beginnings in 1998, I have felt proud to work with others on projects and activities to benefit the county libraries.

Like many other service and social organizations, the Friends of the Library has had to take an unwanted break of nearly two years from all meetings and activities. Now, happily, the Friends are ready to come out of pandemic hibernation and work toward their purpose of supporting the program of the Newberry County Library System and promoting community interest in its resources and services.

As a new year begins, the organization is welcoming new members. Newberry is so fortunate to have a beautiful building with many resources and a caring, competent staff. Anyone interested in learning more about the Friends or becoming a member is invited to come to a Friends of the Newberry County Library revitalization meeting on Monday, January 10, at 3 p.m. in the newly renovated meeting room. Those present can expect to hear about and view some new high-tech equipment that the Friends helped fund.

Community support has been especially strong for two of the Friends’ projects, which are a Literary Luncheon held each spring and a large book sale held once or twice a year. The most recent Literary Luncheon was held in May of 2019. A speaker had already been obtained and tickets printed for the 2020 luncheon when cancellation became necessary.

The Friends take pride in having well-known luncheon speakers, many of whom are on the New York Times Bestseller list, including Mary Alice Monroe, Mary Kay Andrews, Karen White and Dorothea Benton Frank. Other author events have been sponsored by the Friends with speakers obtained through the South Carolina Humanities Society.

People have been asking, “When are you going to have another book sale?” In addition to wanting to buy books, they are also eager to donate books for a sale. If anything good came out of the pandemic, it was that many of us readers actually had time to make a dent in the stack of unread books that had been building up for a long time. Now we are ready to recycle those books and acquire some new reads. The Friends organization certainly does hope to have a book sale in 2022, but this is a labor-intensive project, and more members are needed to assist with lifting, sorting, and selling. Unfortunately, the library does not have space to store books waiting to be sold, but an announcement will be made when donated books can be accepted.

Not everyone is aware that the Friends of the Library room near the entrance of the library provides an ongoing book sale. Both hard-cover and paperback books are sold during normal library hours at very reasonable prices on an honor basis. Patrons can select their books and take them to the circulation desk to pay.

Funds raised by the Friends through projects, membership fees, and memorials are usually used for items that go beyond the basic budgeted needs of the library. Past purchases through Friends’ funding have included additional large-print books, children’s books, computers for both Newberry and Whitmire libraries, special computer chairs, holiday decorations, a book-drop box, and much more. In addition, the Friends provide funds quarterly for purchasing specific print, audio, and video items to help balance the collection. A committee composed of Friends members and library staff members choose the selections from designated categories.

It has been my experience that Newberry is chock-full of readers, possibly more so than the average small town. I find myself constantly having conversations that begin with someone asking me, “What have you been reading lately?” or “I’ve just finished a book that I think you’d like. Do you want me to bring it to you?” (Sure, I always like to try out a new author!)

For all of the readers who like to toss around ideas and opinions about books, the Friends organization is the sponsor of a delightful, easy-going book discussion group. We meet once a month at 4 p.m. on the second Tuesday to discuss whatever book we as a group have chosen for that month. Our list of over 200 books that we have read and discussed since this group was formed in 2000 is a source of constant amazement to us. As an indication of the popularity of this club, during the pandemic when the library was closed, we met outside in the courtyard of the Newberry Opera House, masked and socially-distanced, sometimes wearing scarves and gloves. We are now back to meeting in the library, and we would warmly welcome new members.