Introduction to the Friends
September 26, 2008
Dear Friends of the Jones Library System:
It is a privilege to write to all of you because I know that it's thanks to you that we are able to support our town libraries in so many different and significant ways. This year, the Friends have sponsored new programs on wildlife (bears, endangered species) and comic book art, added more membership passes to museums (the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Mass MoCA in North Adams, the Forest Park Zoo in Springfield), and helped out with a large donation to keep the Jones open on Monday afternoons. We have funded a DVD polisher, new clocks, handbooks for the English as a Second Language students, and a beautiful new awning for the North Amherst Library.
And we have continued to fund the Children's Music Series in the spring, the Summmer Reading Clubs for children at all three town libraries, the Sing with Your Baby program, and the Every 2nd Grader a Reader program that introduces every 2nd grade student in the Amherst public schools to the library with a tour, a snack, a story, a gift book, and a library card.
We have been very successful with our fundraising projects over the past year, raising over $5,000 from our annual Valentine Basket auction and over $7,000 from our Beds for Books program. All of that money goes directly to the book budget of the town libraries. But we will need to improve on that record if we are going to be able to keep up with rising costs for all library services and materials. This year, with the threat of a state income tax repeal hanging over the funding of many of our libraries' services (the co-operative regional library system, services for the blind and disabled, and access to statewide databases, for example), it is more important than ever to show our support for our public libraries.
With our economy, both local and national, facing real challenges these days, it is encouraging that so many people have joined together to continue the work that our libraries do in our community. Please renew your membership in the Friends of the Jones Library System on the enclosed form at whatever level you can afford.
Thank you on behalf of all the Friends and all the users of the Jones Library System.
Thank you,
Bonnie Vigeland
President, Friends of the Jones Library System Board