by Laurie Lyda Rowan Public Library
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, consider
this an official “Friend request.”
Each December, the Friends of Rowan Public Library, a vibrant,
volunteer nonprofit organization, sponsors their annual membership drive. While
some members are heavily involved, membership doesn’t carry a service
requirement: Instead, members choose their level of involvement and activity.
An individual membership costs $10 annually, and a family membership is $15;
applications with full joining details and membership options can be found
online at www.rowancountync.gov/772/Friends-of-the-Library.
Hard copies of the applications are available at any RPL branch.
You might be asking what the Friends do – well, settle in,
my friend, and let me tell you a little about this wonderful organization and
how it gives back to Rowan County.
RPL’s summer reading program includes events for childrens
and adults and reaches thousands of Rowan County residents. Because of the Friends’
sponsorship, RPL is able to offer more summer reading programs and hold them at
more venues.
The Friends sponsor the annual Stories by the Millstream
festival each September. Typically held at Sloan Park in Mount Ulla, the
festival celebrates the power of storytelling with several shorter sessions,
each with a different teller, and culminates with a performance by a featured
storyteller. All Rowan County second-graders from public, private, and home
schools are invited to attend this festival, which runs during the regular
school day. Then, that evening, the Friends sponsor the Millstream Family
Storytime, a free event that is open to the public and to all ages.
In cooperation with Cheerwine, the Friends sponsor a free
concert series. Past performers have included Wayne Henderson, Clay Lunsford,
and Matthew Weaver (performing as a trio), the Thistledown Tinkers, and Logie
Meachum. The next concert will be held Tuesday, Jan. 30, with performer to be
announced.
The Friends support RPL and the communities it serves in
many other ways, too – from the annual children’s Bookmark Contest to donating
literary baskets for prizes, such as at South Rowan Regional’s recent Fall Festival & Open House.
To fund these community outreaches, the Friends engage in
many different fundraisers. Anyone can
participate, so even if you’re not a member of the Friends, you can still
provide extra support for RPL.
Each fall, the Friends host a book sale that is the largest
volunteer opportunity for its members. Those who choose to participate can help
sort, organize, and run the book sale. The
book sale is a mammoth-sized undertaking; this year, there were approximately
1,000 boxes of books for sale. While these sales are a fundraiser, they’re a
form of community support, too, offering a wide range of nonfiction and fiction
books, DVDs, and specialty items at discount prices. The sales are also a lot
of fun; I attend each one and always wind up getting several books at a great
price.
Year-round, the organization has ongoing literary basket
sales, including holiday-themed literary baskets. (So, if you are looking for
the perfect gift for the booklover in your life, check out the selection at
your nearest branch.) The Friends also sell great canvas tote bags that are
useful and attractive for only $10 each.
Each branch also has a year-round book sale with a limited and
varied selection of books; hardbacks are $2 and paperbacks $1. The Friends also
offer book and DVD rentals of recent bestsellers at each branch, so if you
can’t wait to read John Grisham’s latest, and RPL’s circulating copies are
checked out and/or on hold, you don’t have to wait – you can rent a copy!
The Friends’ annual membership drive, going on now, is
another way the organization supports itself. In addition to offering members
volunteer and community engagement opportunities, benefits include admission to
the annual fall book sale’s preview night (before the sale opens to the
public), a monthly newsletter, and a book or DVD rental coupon ($3 value).
This month, consider joining the Friends of RPL – your
membership, no matter how active (or not) you choose to be, will make a
tangible, positive difference in our community. Individuals are welcome to purchase
memberships as gifts, too. For more information, call 704-216-8240.
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