The Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Adams County Library was held this past week in the USS Eisenhower Room of the Adams County Library.  Ila Verdirame, FOL President, presented a check for $20,000 to Rob Lesher, Director of the Adams County Library System.  This amount completes the yearly pledge of $60,000.

     Verdirame noted that the pledged amount comes from three separate sources: Membership fees; profit from the Book Store; and the summer Used Book Sale Bonanza. Each of these activities raise about a third of the pledge.

     Membership fees begin at $20 and can be received by the Library at any time of the year.  FOL publishes as newsletter several times a year and a coupon with membership information is always included in this mailing.  The coupon also provides an opportunity to indicate an interest in working with Friends' activities and projects. The newsletter may be picked up at the main desks of the System libraries.

      The Book Store, located on the ground floor, is open daily and is staffed by volunteer salespeople.  Ray Pollock is the Store manager and keeps the merchandize fresh and flowing.  The "Life Cycle" of used books is an interesting one.  Most Store books are given as donations.  They are carefully sorted, priced, and sent to the Book Store to be displayed.  If the books, tapes etc are not sold within a reasonable time, they return to the sorting garage and are packaged for the summer Sale.

      The August Used Book Sale Bonanza, now getting ready for its eighth season, is held at the Gettysburg Middle School.  Under the capable direction of Marian Benchoff and her sorting team, books are packed and placed into storage.  Dozens of volunteers help conduct this event and each year it is more successful.  The final total for the 2009 sale was $26,634.  Books and other materials may be donated at any time during the year.

      There are several other ways FOL makes money for the Library.  Almost $775 was earned this past year from recycling ink cartridges.  A Dine-Out event was held at Friendly's Restaurant and the Friends will have a mini-Book Sale at the Gettysburg High School National Honor Society Holiday Market in December.

     The president also noted that the Friends have made special gifts of money and goods to other Library programs.  The group provided snacks and funds for a special workshop at the Pennsylvania Library Association and refreshments for National Library Workers Day.  A binding machine was purchased for the general use of the Library System and funds have been set aside for several matching gifts and grants.

     Verdirame pointed out that FOL has its own Named Endowment account and money is contributed whenever possible to build that fund which is used for direct purchase of books and materials.

      The meeting closed with the adoption of the 2010 budget along with its continuing pledge of $60,000 and a challenge to increase FOL membership. 

     Please consider supporting the Friends of the Library by becoming a member, donating gently used books for the booksale or volunteering your time.  The entire community will benefit!