You've Got a Friend...

Elisabeth Scott

Reference Librarian

Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call, and the Friends of Libraries will be there to help! Carole King lyrics aside, we wanted to give Friends of Libraries groups across the state an effusive and grateful thank you this National Friends of Libraries Week. These groups are essential to the vitality and growth of libraries across Mississippi. Registered as charitable organizations with the Secretary of State's office, Friends groups do a lot of nitty-gritty work for libraries. They are heavily focused on fundraising, yes, but also on connecting the community with their local library through hands-on volunteer work. We encourage you to reach out to your local library to join their Friends group. If they don't have a Friends group, you might consider starting one for them. Work with your library and use the resources listed here to start a Friends group or help your current group grow.

If you're already involved and think your Friends group is amazing, you should nominate them for one of two annual awards given by the Friends of Mississippi Libraries yearly at the Mississippi Library Association annual conference. Nominations typically begin each August.

This year's winner of the Chapter One Award, given to a local Friends group for outstanding volunteer contributions in the area of service to libraries during the year, went to the Friends of Winona-Montgomery County Library and was accepted by president and former librarian Virginia “Bootsie” Weed. Under her leadership, the Winona-Montgomery Friends funded a wildly successful community gardening extravaganza led by Felder Rushing during this year's National Library Week. Aside from hosting this and many other author events for adults, the Winona-Montgomery Friends have also assisted with programs for children. The library's annual pajama party wouldn't have been the same without their gift and snack bags. This Friends group also supplied much-needed blinds for the library's meeting room, adding versatility and a new look for the space.

The winner of this year's Ruby Assaf Presidential Award, which honors an outstanding individual volunteer for a local Friends chapter, was Friends of Madison Library president Jean Garrett. She is an active patron of the Madison Library and frequently recruits new members for their Friends group. Also on the Board of Trustees, Garrett has driven the effort for exterior repair and cosmetic work at the library and has now turned her gaze to the interior of the building. She also led a grassroots effort to persuade the Mississippi legislature to leave access to public libraries unfettered.

Another great resource for Friends groups in Mississippi is the annual, competitive Margaret Murray Grant. This grant honors former MLC employee, Margaret Murray, who helped start over 100 local Friends groups in Mississippi. This grant is currently open and receiving applications. Funds awarded should be used to advance library programming and literacy at the Friends' library. The application deadline is February 29, 2024; grantees will be announced April 1, 2024. 

If you want to get more involved in the impact your public library has on its community, the Friends will be there, yes, they will. (Sadly, songwriter and singer extraordinaire Carole King will not actually be there.)

Congratulations, Friends!

Lacy Ellinwood

Lead Library Consultant

The Friends of Mississippi Libraries Inc. is pleased to announce the 2022 Margaret Murray Grant recipients. There were 12 applications this year and very competitive for the reviewers. The Friends of Mississippi Libraries, Inc. would like to thank everyone that applied. The next Margaret Murray grant cycle will open in October 2022. Please join us in congratulating these local Friends groups. 

 

Friends of the Greenwood-Leflore Public Library System:

The funds acquired through the Margaret Murray Grant will be used in the library’s efforts to create and maintain a collection and programming for the Spanish-speaking community of Greenwood, Mississippi. The bulk of the money will go towards buying bilingual and Spanish-language materials with the remainder used to acquire necessary materials for programs specific to the Spanish-language community, such as a Bilingual Storytime. The library noted an increase in Spanish-speaking patrons at the library, highlighting the lack of resources for non-English speakers, and amplified the importance of providing services for them through the library. 

 

Friends of the Lexington Public Library, Mid-Mississippi Regional Library System:

Funds will be used to purchase a combination of 1st grade reading level books and Wonderbooks. Wonderbooks are printed books with a ready-to-play audiobook inside and include a Learning Mode to keep talking about the book children just read. Wonderbooks give children an edge with vocabulary development, phonics, and comprehension, and encourage deeper engagement with every book. Holmes County children age birth to 5 are at a poverty rate of 61.3% and are considered "high risk" in their Kindergarten Assessment scores. 

 

Friends of the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System: 

The funds will be used to bolster inclusive offerings of graphic novels and manga to library patrons. This includes manga and graphic novels by and about BIPOC individuals and those with disabilities. By diversifying the collection, it will appeal to a broader audience and benefit current program offerings to promote cultural competency development, including manga drawing practice, sampling food from various cultures represented in the collection during the Anime and Manga club, and more. The Anime and Manga Club contributed to circulation in this collection with statistics showing a 100% increase from 2020 to 2021. Graphic novels and manga have increased in popularity for their benefits to neurodivergent readers and individuals who value visuals with texts. 

Congratulations to these friends groups on the great work they're doing in Mississippi libraries. It's always a good time to join your local library friends organization, so give your library a call today and ask how to participate!

Thank You for Being a Friend

Lacy Ellinwood

Library Development Director

To honor National Friends of Libraries Week, we wanted to highlight the winners of the Chapter One and Ruby Assaf Presidential Awards that were presented at the recent Mississippi Library Association Conference. The Chapter One Award is given to an outstanding Friends of the Library group for contributions of service to their local library. The Friends of Choctaw County Library were this year’s Chapter One awardee. This group has been quite active since their inception in 2018. Their art show in August 2019 showcased 20 local artists and attracted many visitors. Their advocacy efforts at the Mississippi State Capitol and fundraising ideas have served to bring awareness to others about the Choctaw County Library System and its outstanding services. The Ruby Assaf Presidential Award honors an exceptional volunteer in a Friends of the Library chapter. Sarah Williams, with the Tishomingo Friends of the Library, is this year’s honoree. Sarah is the Vice President for her Friends group located within the Northeast Regional Library System. Sarah’s accomplishments and contributions are immeasurable. Each year, Sarah helps with the Summer Reading Program by sharing ideas, planning, and organizing events. Sarah is a hands-on volunteer. When it comes to book sales, she unpacks books, sets up tables, and helps people with their next great find. Sarah is always coming up with ways to get new books for the children’s library and is an asset to the Tishomingo Library.

These awards highlight the importance of what Friends can do for their local library and how they connect the library to the community. There are many ways Friends can shine a light on their libraries, but here are two tips from United for Libraries on how libraries can show appreciation to their Friends. 

• Tell your local officials how important the Friends are to the ongoing success of the library. Use this opportunity to convey how the Friends raise money, promote the library, and volunteer in many ways. Submit an article to a citywide or campus-wide publication.
  
• Tell the personal story of a longtime volunteer with the Friends, the impact of Friends support on programs, services, and/or collections, or how the Friends supported the library in another way.

During this unprecedented time, we have seen many new faces using our library services. This could be an opportunity for your Friends to grow their membership. Creating online membership capabilities could broaden the Friends member base. It also serves to support the Friends from a safe and socially distance space. Friends are a great connection to our communities and their support enhances libraries across Mississippi.

Building Readers at Emily J. Pointer Library

Margaret Murray served the Mississippi Library Commission (MLC) and libraries in Mississippi for twenty years before retiring in 2014. At the annual Mississippi Library Association conference in 2015, the Friends of Mississippi Libraries announced a grant honoring her work in the library community. The competitive grant advances library programming and literacy for Mississippi public libraries through activities sponsored by the local Friends of Mississippi Libraries chapters. Three $1,000 grant recipients are named each year.

Como Branch Manager Amy Henderson receives the grant check
from Del Ann Billingsly, Treasurer of the Como Library Friends.

The Friends group of the Emily J. Pointer Library, a branch of the First Regional Library System, is one of this year's recipients. This library, located in Como, Mississippi, wanted to advance early literacy through collection development. Nearly 50% of children in this area perform below passing levels in language arts. Their goals were to attract and expose preschool age children to the alphabet and numbers in a fun way while keeping with current trends of collection development, especially with the inclusion of books featuring diverse characters. In their grant application, the group said, "By offering an appealing, up-dated collection of books to our young patrons, we hope to aid in the improvement of literacy levels in school age children."

Como Library Youth Specialist Veneda Ruby and Pat Hendren
show off some of the books ordered with grant funds.

Many congratulations to Emily J. Pointer Library and the children of Como, who will benefit from this grant for many years to come. Check back with us soon for more posts featuring this year's Margaret Murray Grant recipients!

Jackson-George Regional Library System Recognizes Volunteers

Mississippi Library Commission Executive Director Hulen Bivins was the guest speaker at the Jackson-George Regional Library System's 32nd Annual Volunteer Awards Reception at the Pascagoula Public Library on Tuesday, February 13. Along with a luncheon, the volunteers attending from the nine branch libraries received a certificate recognizing their service and a chance for door prizes.

The Rita Krebs Genealogy Volunteer of the Year was given to Mississippi Digital Library for their assistance in helping digitize collections for the genealogy library. The Mary Ann Louviere Youth Services Volunteer of the Year was presented to Aric Wirtz from the Ocean Springs Library with 181 hours of service. The Flora S. Scholtes Volunteer of the Year was presented to Estelle Nettles from the Moss Point Library with 290 hours of service. The Friends of the Pascagoula Public Library won the Friends of the Library 2019 award which was presented by Library Director Lori Barnes. This award is given for outstanding support for Friends projects, program sponsorships, fundraising efforts, and membership drives for the library.

“Volunteers donated nearly 8,000 hours of service to the library system for 2018 and is the equivalent of more than four full-time employees,” said library director Lori Barnes. “We couldn’t do all we do without them,” she said.

You can see more photos of the event on the library's Facebook page. Visit the library's website for more information about their Friends groups and locations. For more information on setting up a Friends group at your Mississippi library, MLC is here to help. Volunteering at your library is a great way to give back to your community. We appreciate these hardworking individuals and their contributions to the Mississippi library world.

The Power of a Post

Lately, everyone has been focused on the Facebook data scandal, but Facebook--and other social media platforms--still have the potential to jump-start change. Late last summer, the world was fascinated by a total solar eclipse. Libraries in particular used the event to draw crowds, pairing the wonders of natural science with informative speakers and hands-on activities. Martha Diehl, the branch manager of Jane Blaine Brewer Memorial Library in tiny Mount Olive, MS (2010 population estimate: 982¹,) got the entire town involved with a "Sun Party" blowout that included food stands, a mini "train" ride, and of course, plenty of solar eclipse viewing glasses.

Pictures from the library's Sun Party

Diehl shared a picture advertising the event on her library system's Facebook page. The picture was seen by Julia Brewer Daily, the daughter of the woman for whom the library was named. Daily wanted to make a donation to replace the makeshift triple office desk with a real circulation desk. Her family has gotten on board and made additional donations to buy more books and standard office equipment and supplies. Grants are being explored as well, and could help with expansion into the vacated fire department next door. The local newspaper, The News-Commercial in Collins, MS, even ran a front page story on the sudden windfall.

The new desk has been installed and the staff say that it, along with the other donations are, a dream come true. It's amazing that one small post on Facebook led to a wealth of opportunity for this small Mississippi library.

If you'd like to make a donation to your local library for improvements, books, or other supplies, check with the library's branch manager first to see what they need. Donations can be made to libraries' friends organizations or go directly to the library if they're earmarked for a specific purpose.

¹American FactFinder

Friends of Mississippi Libraries Announce 2017 Margaret Murray Grants

The Friends of Mississippi Libraries Inc. is pleased to announce the recipients for the 2017 Margaret Murray Grants. Each library will receive $500 for their project, along with a cash match provided by their local Friends of the Library organization.

There were 18 applicants this year and the applications were more competitive than expected. Thus, the state Friends of Mississippi Libraries Inc. provided a partial grant to a fourth Friends group that was only fractions of a point away from being awarded a full grant. Please join us in congratulating these Friends groups!

These are the groups and projects awarded for 2017:

Friends of the Pass Christian Library: “100 Books Before High school” Literary Program. Promotes reading for fun to school age youth, for every 25 books read a prize is won and at the 100th books a free book is awarded. Funds will be used to purchase prizes, award books, and program supplies.

Friends of Pontotoc County Library: Purchase new children’s non-fiction animal books for the library collection in conjuncture with “Animal Tales” an educational program with live animals to be held in the library.

Friends of Lexington Public Library: Purchase 2017 ALA award winning books to increase local access to high quality materials on school reading lists.

*Partial Award
Friends of Stone County Libraries: Purchase five sets of books for the Mississippi Bicentennial Celebration. “15 Great Books for Mississippi Kids” will serve as the initial list of books for Bicentennial Book Club meetings.

Celebrating Friends of Mississippi Libraries

It's National Friends of Libraries Week, but do you know what that means? The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word friend as a close acquaintance. We'd like to introduce you to some very special friends of ours, the multitude of Friends of Libraries groups across Mississippi. These groups are integral to libraries. They are our fundraisers, our volunteers, our supporters, and our advocates. They are our friends. Just look at their extraordinary accomplishments just last year in Mississippi.

One neat way you can help Friends groups and Mississippi libraries is to participate in the Mississippi Day of Giving this coming Saturday, October 24, 2015. Many libraries and Friends groups are registered as participating organizations.

Would you like to be involved in the Friends chapter at your local library? Are you interested in learning more about Friends of Libraries groups in Mississippi? Check our website here for the ins and outs of participating in a chapter or starting and running a group.

Existing Friends groups, take note! There is a new grant opportunity, the Margaret Murray Grant, which will "advance library programming and literacy for Mississippi public libraries through activities sponsored by the local Friends of Mississippi Libraries chapters."

We hope you enjoy the 10th annual National Friends of Libraries Week and that you use it to become an even closer acquaintance with your friend, your local library!