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Friends of the Alameda Free Library |
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Statement of purpose: To increase public awareness of the library as an essential part of the community’s educational and cultural facilities. And to support and cooperate with the library in developing library services and facilities. |
A Note from the PresidentAs you may recall, our September newsletter included a member survey. It provided the opportunity to rank your interest in the various programs we currently offer and to give your opinion on some possible new activities. Many thanks to those of you who responded. It was an eye-opener and will be very helpful in planning for the future. We learned that, among our current programs, sup-port for the book sales is most popular with members, followed by the summer reading program and the literacy program. Author nights and Juvenile Hall subscriptions garnered less support, but enough to indicate we should continue with these programs, too. We asked for your opinions on four possible new activities: a cafe in the new library, books for babies, senior outreach, and social events. The cafe and senior outreach received the most positive responses. We will begin planning for the cafe soon and invite all of you to get involved with that effort. Did you know that the Library already has a books for babies program? Acting Library Director Jane Chisaki reports that Library staff currently administer the program and that the Friends are welcome to get involved. We will distribute copies of the full survey report at the Friends January meeting. I
hope you can come and pick up a copy. If you can't make it to the meeting, just send me
an email (mmskeen@copper.net) and I'll forward a copy to you. ~Molly Skeen From the MinutesThanks once again to Chris Christopher for taking the minutes. We still need a permanent recording secretary! Treasurer. John presented the financial report for January to date in October 2005. Our total net worth was reported to be $225,309.31. John is investigating (1) insurance requirements for members of non-profit, volunteer organizations who participate in group activities; and (2) audit requirements Membership. Peter reported that memberships paid through 2005 total 123 and 106 are paid through 2006. There are eight new members. Library Director's Report. Jane Chisaki, Acting Director, reported on construction progress for the new library (see the latest in "Acting Director's Re-port" below). Jane also reported on Library Foundation active-ties. A "Sneak Peak Gala" fund-raiser is being planned. Tickets will probably be $100-$200. During the extensive discussion, several members in attendance expressed some concern about the Foundation's ability to fulfill its purpose successfully. The Grand Opening for the new library is currently scheduled for November 2, 2006 at 11:00am. Book Sale: Gert reported that the October book sale was very successful.
Approximately 800 boxes of books were brought to the sale. All books unsold at the end
of Sunday were picked up by St. Vincent de Paul. The assistance of the Encinal High
School students was extremely useful and much appreciated. The problem of the
accumulation of so-called "second rate" books was discussed at some length.
Donated books always include a significant proportion of paperback fiction, Book Club
selections, and other types of books and items that the book sale coordinators consider
not worth bringing to the sale. In the past, the Junior Friends members conducted
periodic sales of these books, but now that this group is inactive, these materials are
accumulating. A number of suggestions were advanced, including selling them in bulk in
sealed boxes. A number of such sealed boxes have been sold at the donation site on Oak
Street. This practice might possibly be expanded and even advertised. A suggestion that
some number of these books be sold in sealed boxes at each book sale got a mixed
response. The only other alternative seems to be sending them to a recycling center. The
next book sale is scheduled for May 5, 6, and 7, 2006. Old BusinessWebsite. Chris Christopher reported on improvements made recently to the proposed new Friends web site and gave information about hosting and domain name services. Bulletin board. Molly reported that Susannah Hnilo has volunteered to be the new library bulletin board coordinator. Peter Woods reported on the status of a new membership card mailer to be stocked at the library. Tote bags. Marilyn Ng reported on her extensive research into ordering a stock of Friends book bags, which could be sold at book sales and at the library. Marilyn and Molly Skeen volunteered to review all the possibilities and present a recommendation at the January meeting. Uncle Albert. A proposal was made and approved for the Friends to purchase the statue of "Uncle Albert" from Gert and Pete Woods. "Uncle Albert" is approximately 4 ft. tall and is carrying a large stack of books. The statue will serve as a donation and sale mascot. ~Chris Christopher Acting Director's ReportThe Alameda Free Library will host another SAT Strategy Session presented by the Princeton Review. The SAT is an exam that many colleges require for admission. It is also used to award scholarships. The program will provide an overview of the college admissions process and application requirements for the UC system as well as share test-taking strategies and information about the SAT itself. This is a free program. It will be held on Tuesday, January 24, 2005 from 7:00 until 8:30 in the evening at the Interim Main Library, 2200-A Central Avenue in Alameda. Advance reservations are recommended. For more information and/or to sign up call the Alameda Free Library Reference Desk at 747-7713 or visit the Princeton Review website www.PrincetonReview.com/events ." The Main Library project. If you happen by the construction site these days you can
see the brick work progressing on three sides (Times Way, Oak, and Lincoln), windows
getting installed and the roof taking more shape. The precast concrete "window
sills" are now installed to frame the window areas themselves. As far as I am
aware, everything is progressing on schedule and within budget. Plans are in the works for a "sneak peek" fundraising event, a few days before the grand opening itself. The first meeting of the planning group is on January 10 (contact Marilyn Ng for more information). The grand opening of the new main library is scheduled for Thursday, November 2, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. Mark your calendars! ~Jane Chisaki BALIS UpdateEvery year, the California Association of Library Trustees and Commissioners (CALTAC) schedules two Friday sessions with local legislators and congress members. This year the two Fridays are January 27 and February 3. This is a great opportunity to meet face-to-face with our political decision makers to let them know how much we support our community libraries. And this year meeting with them is particularly important because friends of libraries need to gather support for the new library construction bond act on the ballot in June. More information on these meetings will be forthcoming. I also wanted to remind the Friends that my term as the city's representative on the
Advisory Board of BALIS will expire end of June. I have enjoyed being your
representative these four years (actually it's a two-year term, renewable once),
learning a great deal about how libraries serve as resources in their communities and
how I could be a better library advocate. I've met some really great library advocates
serving on the Board. I even chaired the Board last year! I urge any Alameda resident
who is interested in becoming a more effective fighter for libraries to consider
applying for this position. The Board meets every other month on the first Wednesday
evening, usually at the Hayward library, just a couple of blocks from the BART station. ~ Marc Lambert Book Lust and Library FiguresSanta brought a shushing librarian doll to me this year. The librarian action figure caused a stir in libraryland when it came on the market in October 2003. I saw the shushing action doll for sale along with the companion 287-page book titled Book Lust, at the American Library Association Midwinter conference in San Diego in January 2004. I have a very modest income and decided to buy only the book. My husband recently found the action figure for sale at Happy Trails on Park Street in Alameda and purchased one for me. The model for the doll and the author of Book Lust are one and the same: Nancy Pearl. She is a librarian, most recently affiliated with the Washington (state) Center for the Book (Since retired ~ed.). Her description of our heroes, printed on the back of the package for the doll, is delightful: "The role of a librarian is to make sense of the world of information. If that is not a qualification for superherodom, what is?" There are other interesting items on the back of the doll package. There is a list of "19 Notable Events in Library History", beginning with the Western World's earliest libraries in Egypt four thousand years ago. There is a list of eleven famous (and diverse) librarians ranging from Longfellow to Batgirl. The book Book Lust has write-ups of recommended reading "for every mood, moment, and reason." There are more than 175 categories. The descriptions are indeed "creative, useful and often witty," as the publisher asserts. The author has assembled readers' advisory information for a very long time, primarily for the audience of other librarians. She has managed a column in Library Journal and has had a pair of books published by Libraries Unlimited, titled Now Read This and Now Read This II. Will there be a sequel to Book Lust? There already is. In fact it's available
with the Librarian Action Figure Deluxe Model! Maybe I'll get that from Santa Claus next
year. ~Mari Clark Friends Officers & Committee ChairsPresident: Molly Skeen |
