Columbia Friends Continue Record-Setting Pace

March 2007

The Friends of the Columbia Public Library made a record-high annual donation of $64,000 to the Columbia Public Library.

This is the third year in a row that the group has set a new donation record. DBRL Director Melissa Carr said, “The Friends have outdone themselves again. Their annual donation gives us some flexibility that we wouldn’t otherwise have for funding pilot projects and jump-starting new and innovative services. I can’t thank the Friends enough for all of their hard work and generosity.”

The funds will be used to purchase new materials and for special projects. Last year, their donation covered some of the costs of the One Read community-wide reading program, the summer reading program for kids, some new furniture in the main program/meeting room, and carts and supplies for the library’s newest ambassadors, the Dewey Decimators Book Cart Drill Team.

The all-volunteer group sorts through books and other materials donated by the public. Books in good condition that would enhance the library’s collection are added to our shelves. In 2006, the library added over 2,300 donated items to the collection, worth an estimated $39,700.
Much of what is donated to the Friends is resold at sales held at the library and on eBay. Books are on sale every Tuesday in the lobby, at special large sales like the ones coming up in March and April and in groups by theme or genre on the first Tuesday of every month. (See facing page for a list of upcoming sales.) Books that do not sell but are in good condition are donated to a number of local organizations, including senior centers, clinics, hospitals, and, in 2006, to U.S. troops stationed in Iraq.

The Friends keep a tally of their volunteer hours, and the story those numbers tell is quite impressive. Last year, 21 members of the Friends spent 4,399 hours hauling, sorting and selling donations. Counting both the monetary donation and the value of the materials added to the library’s collection, the Friends earn over $23 an hour for the library!