Goodbye (part 1)

After forty years working in libraries, including thirty-two years at APL – of which twenty-two have been in administration and the last fifteen as Director, I’m down to my last day before retirement.

It seems appropriate to share a few reflections and one librarian’s opinion on where we've been and where we’re going. I've seen massive changes in how we provide library service. At the UW-Memorial Library in 1972, we hand-stamped transaction cards each time a book was checked out, filed copies of the cards in call number order, and pulled them from the files when the books came back or when somebody wanted to place a hold. We had to maintain card catalogs for people to find anything and the catalog alone at Memorial took up a room larger than many small public libraries.

As a new reference librarian here in 1978, I could answer most questions by consulting our small card catalog, the Reader’s Guide to Periodicals (and its specialized cousins), and some selected reference books. We sent inter-library loan requests only a few places, using a teletype machine. Our media collections were LP records, a few filmstrips and – just for schools and groups -- 16 mm films. We had no community meeting spaces, very few adult programs, and none for teens.

So what’s changed? There’s been a revolution in electronic communications and thus in information. Databases and Google searches have replaced many reference books. Email and text messaging have replaced postal mail and telephone. So the library’s tradition “bibliographic instruction” of teaching people how to find things has gone electronic, in big-time fashion, with informal assistance in getting an email account and formal instruction in computer basics as precursors to doing meaningful research. "Library 2.0" has developed connections and interactivity, while shared automation networks have created huge virtual collections, making more library materials available to more people in more ready fashion than ever.

Growth in electronic media has meant that library materials are continuing to change, although book circulation is still huge, DVDs, digital recorded books, and eBooks are all increasing their share of library use. Downloadable electronic files continue to shake the publishing world and libraries are struggling to define their place and preserve their values in this rapidly evolving environment.

The library has long been a community center, but is more self-consciously developing that role with programs for all ages and interests, awareness of learning as a social activity, community meeting spaces, exhibits and displays and outreach via staff involvement with partner groups. Program attendance and meeting room use have grown rapidly. In Appleton, as in many places, we are more aware of the centrality of volunteers and friends in fulfilling the library’s mission. Many essential tasks are now done by volunteers as shrinking public funding has not been sufficient for the staff to grow as quickly as demands for services. There is an increasing reliance on donations and endowments. All of this leads to the need for a strong balanced friends organization providing a variety of support including volunteers, marketing, fundraising and advocacy.

With so many changes, are libraries still the same and relevant? Absolutely, and more than ever! The unchanging mission of the public library is for information equity, intellectual freedom, and a diversity of ideas, opinions and users. Public libraries support every individual’s ability to define and pursue their own opportunity, and the changing economics of information only increase the importance of supporting that for everyone. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19 states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” The public library is an institution working to guarantee this right.

The library has long been a cultural center, which no longer means a book warehouse, if it ever did. We support everyone's access to the cultural record in myriad forms. Libraries are individually responsive to their communities, but everywhere support lifelong learning, the love of books and reading, and the chance for everyone to learning independently on their own terms.

The technology changes the techniques, but not the values.

I’m leaving my job, but I’m still a librarian and will continue to work for the values of libraries – particularly public libraries.

Looking back at 2010

2010 has been a busy and eventful year at APL. Looking back, here's a few of the things that jump out:

1. Changing of the guard: new leadership, or APL:TNG -- Colleen Rortvedt has been tapped as the next Library Director -- I probably list this first because looming retirement somehow seems like a big deal to me. But after I've been gone for six months, it'll either be "Terry who?" or "this is great -- why did we never do it before?" I appreciate the extensive hiring process our Board went through to find the next Director: they made a great choice. Colleen will bring some great new energy and innovative ideas; she is poised to make positive changes. 2010's accomplishments testify to her vision and effectiveness. In any case, fifteen years of me in this chair is enough.

   Last May, Brian Kopetsky succeeded Meg Shriver, our longstanding reference supervisor with whom I worked for 30 years. Meg was well loved for many reasons, nonetheless Brian has begun making some positive changes as well, showing leadership in social media, marketing, technology, and the Wisconsin public library community.
   

2. Friends Executive Director & board bring new activism and energy -- After our Friends and Foundation merged last year, they spent some months getting organized and hired their first Executive Director -- Janice Daniels Quinlan -- who then set up a great annual meeting, recruited new board members, and has greatly expanded fund-raising and advocacy. With Jan's leadership, the Friends are increasing their visibility and effectiveness while fostering increased connections with the community.


3. RFID sparks massive weeding, slated for complete implementation in 2011 -- There are four great things about the way RFID is going. First is the concept of tagging the collection mainly with volunteers, making the process shorter and cheaper to implement. Second is the tight teamwork of the group that planned the details of implementation, and went through the RFP and vendor selection process. Third is the totally massive weeding project that saw tens of thousands of marginal, worn, or outdated items pulled from the collection, buying us some needed space and making the tagging faster and more cost-effective. And finally, the bold plan to complete the project next year with sophisticated self-checks, security gates and automated materials handling. The Library Board, Mayor and City Council all approved the $400,000 capital project, which will transform many tasks when implemented in 2011.
   
   
4. Meeting room changes -- We had several responses to increasing meeting room use, with associated workload issues as well as supply and demand problems. We created a new small meeting room, permanently set up as a conference room and thus readily available with minimal effort. We implemented the Evanced meeting room booking and calendar software, allowing anyone to check on room availability and put in a request 24/7 without staff mediation. Lower level rooms are now available to community groups on Saturdays. We set up a new color-coded directional signage system on the lower level, clarifying room information and eliminating confusion.
   


5. New long range plan -- Beginning with a staff retreat in February, through meetings of a staff task force in the Spring and a Library Board/community committee in the summer, we revised our long range plan. While the new plan did not represent a radical departure (only prudent in the midst of management transition), it includes a redefined mission, a serious update and some useful new directions. Some of these were already underway with building recommendations, RFID, changes to the Friends and updated marketing efforts.
   


6. Marketing plan & social media -- After a long evolutionary process, we have a new marketing plan with some good mechanisms to maintain communications. An active team has made our Facebook page into a great information source and opportunity for community conversation. We are poised to integrate calendar feeds, improved email communication and other social media, along with a re-branded Friends organization, to possibly re-brand the library and finally bring home the oft-delayed website revamp.
   


7. Program attendance & meeting room use jumps -- Our annual program attendance is pushing 40,000, an increase of 16% over last year. This is related to marketing efforts and to hardworking and innovative program staff, putting together cultural and educational offerings for all ages. There's also been a huge increase in use of our meeting rooms. Both these changes reflect the increasing community center role of the library.
   


8. Monitors depart and “Maintenance” turns into “Operations” -- We significantly tweaked, rather than transmogrified, our former Maintenance Clerks to provide some increased security and oversight backup for public services staff. We had done this with part-time Monitors for after-school hours nine months a year, but had been unsuccessful for years in getting funds to expand the Monitor hours. Instead we eliminated a few part-time unbenefited jobs, folded those duties into the Maintenance job descriptions, and gave the full-time, renamed, Operations Clerks additional training on policies and Black Belt Librarian techniques. As city Facilities Management staff has taken on more of the maintenance duties here, our Operations Clerks have used the time to start some new routines, checking in with service desks while doing their regular rounds, and provide public assistance for the increased meeting room use.
   


9. Ebook platforms and discussions proliferate -- While a bunch of have been excited by the iPad this year, we continue to have supply, demand, format and DRM issues with eBooks. Through our system and a statewide consortium, we are able to offer downloadable eBooks in our catalog, and these can be read on Sony Readers and Nooks, as well as Androids, iPads, and iPhones. There are not yet enough titles or copies, and they're not perfectly easy to use, and they don't work on Kindles, but it's a good start. There's been a lot of conversation with much more to come.
   


10. Building project stalls with ongoing economic concerns -- The City Council referred the Library Board's building request to a special Capital Facilities Committee, which met for some months, and is currently on hiatus until late winter or early spring. Community Development Director Karen Harkness summed up the situation nicely, saying she:

    "believes the Committee would be in agreement that the most prudent way to proceed would be to build a new library. However, she also believes the Committee would be in agreement there are too many unknowns such as stimulus dollars, fundraising and the economy."

    Stay tuned!
    

Capital steps

The City Council's Capital Facilities Committee had a good meeting this month, and Chair Joe Martin assigned committee members to answer questions and share thoughts on a decision matrix to help determine whether Appleton should plan to build a new library or remodel the current facility. He will assess the collective answers of the respondents and use them to guide committee discussions.

I'm looking forward to seeing the range of responses from the thirteen member committee -- I'm sure there are many ideas I'd agree with, and maybe some I won't. Although I do not sit on the committee, Ald. Martin solicited feedback from Library administrative staff. Herewith, his questions and my responses:

---

Project Feasibility Decision Matrix
BUILD NEW OR RENOVATE LIBRARY FACILITIES?

STUDIES

Have the past two architectural and consultant studies sufficiently established the need to address library facility concerns?

• Yes – there has been a lot of public input, including scientific random input from users and nonusers, as well as architectural and operational analysis that documents real needs.

SITE ISSUES

What are the requirements of the users that may influence the site location?

• There are several market segments with identifiable site-related needs, mostly due to transportation mode:
• Automobile drivers need convenient parking
• Automobile and private bus passengers need convenient, safe drop-off
• Pedestrians, especially downtown workers and shoppers, need a site close to the central city
• Valley Transit passengers, including school children, need a site within a few blocks of the Transit Center
• Elderly, parents with multiple young children and handicapped, need convenient parking near the library entrance

What affinities to other groups are necessary?

• It is highly desirable that the library be perceived as serving virtually every demographic in the City. In looking at affinities to other organizations, public schools and other educational groups would rank high, as would other government (local, state and national) and a range of community nonprofit groups who would either use library space or do joint programming with the library.

Is the site compatible with the long-range plan of the library?

• The current site is basically compatible, but the current structure lacks both design features and space for current and future community needs. Concerns in the long-range plan would be most fully addressed by a new structure designed to address current priorities and future needs, but could also be addressed by extensive remodeling.

POSSIBLE FUNDING SOURCES

Are there potential donors to the project?

• Unlike police stations, water plants or other municipal construction projects, libraries have the potential to attract significant donations to help with construction. 25-33% of project cost is not unusual for public library projects.
• There are numerous potential donors, ranging from philanthropic individuals and corporations to grass-roots donations from a wide range of the library’s 86,000 cardholders.
• Realizing this potential will require considerable effort, and we assume much of the private fund-raising could be done by the Friends of the Appleton Library (FOAL) -- our community support group. Success of private fund-raising will be greatly enhanced by two factors: naming rights and perceptions of civic presence. A new library will have significantly more potential to bring in donations than a remodel.

Can revenue generation be used to fund the facilities construction or on-going costs? i.e. leasing OWLS, Literacy Coalition, other non-profits

• Some, although this is limited and related to project scope. Potential tenants among nonprofit organizations are unlikely to be able to afford anything comparable to prime commercial rentals. OWLS (the Outagamie Waupaca Library System, which provides many services to APL) currently pays about $30,000/year, and while this is on the low side of cost per square foot in the downtown, Appleton derives many benefits from their presence in ways that would be difficult to quantify in dollars. Likewise, we once housed the Literacy Coalition pro bono. If we were to house groups such as the Literacy Coalition or Multicultural Center, it would be due to the Library’s ongoing participation in and support of these groups as much, if not more, than for revenue generation.
• There is limited potential for commercial development to be co-located with a new library, but absent the involvement of a developer from the inception of the project, this would be difficult to pursue and fit into a structure.
• The most typical commercial activity found in public libraries is a library friends’ store, which will usually sell used books, library merchandise and sometimes have a coffee bar. This would be part of library space to supplement operating income rather than to generate general revenue.

PROJECT ALTERNATIVES

Is there an alternate solution for solving this space problem?

• The only viable alternatives comprising complete solutions are either extensive remodeling and expansion or new construction. It would be possible to address some concerns with a smaller scale remodel and expansion project, but this would almost certainly be unsatisfactory in the long term and neither result in service enhancements the community is seeking nor the same level of operational savings to be realized through more comprehensive design changes.

Do the existing facilities need to be remodeled, or are new facilities required?

• Extensive remodeling and expansion could answer very well, but would neither offer as many opportunities for operational savings through significant design improvements, nor make as strong a case for private funding as would a new building. A new building could also spur other downtown development to a greater extent than an expansion.

Is the space currently available within the library?

• Neither space nor design features to meet the needs are available within the existing structure and the existing footprint.

LINKAGES TO OTHER PROJECTS

What effect will this project have on other projects?

• Much of the effect will depend on the nature of the project. For example, a new building would make the current facility available for other uses, such as a larger, more visible and accessible City Hall. A new building attached to this one and the East Ramp would likely require the relocation of Valley Transit. A new building close to the river front could impact other development initiatives.

Is there a domino effect where another building will need to be renovated?

• Presumably, were this building vacated by the Library, it would require some renovation for different use. While it is theoretically possible that some other building could be renovated as a library, this is not highly practicable due to design and engineering requirements.

THE SIXTH FACTOR IS ONE THAT LOOKS AT THE ENTIRE PICTURE WHICH IS THE PROS AND CONS OF REMODELING AN EXISTING BUILDING VERSUS BUILDING NEW

Remodeling construction during the operation of the library

• There are two scenarios: one where the library moves to temporary quarters and one where remodeling is done while library operations adapt. The first would require the library to close twice for two moves and maintain dual facilities, but remodeling could be done most quickly. The second would not require closing but would entail serial disruptions of various services, and add to construction costs and duration. The extent of renovation might be a deciding factor.

Disruptions, limited usage

• Disruptions and limited usage would be significantly less with new construction as opposed to renovation. There would only be one move and it could be phased to keep closed days to minimum. By tweaking loan periods and asking for public help, some portion of the collection could be moved by patrons checking items out from the old library and returning them to the new.

• The advantages here are relatively short-term, but would result in some operational cost impacts for about two years of any project.

Adapting current spaces vs. designing

• There are some substantive advantages to designing new vs. remodeling. The first is in better opportunities to design spaces to meet current and anticipated future needs, rather than adapting. New design offers greater possibilities for efficiency, ease of use, and meeting community needs. Adapting will necessarily require a greater degree of compromise. The goal is to provide the best possible public service, knowing that staffing and operational resources will be limited over the long term.

Community perceptions / values / civic presence / identity

• The second advantage to new design is the message we send to – and the presence we create in -- the community. A highly visible and substantial investment in this public service makes a clear statement that this city values education, family, opportunity and community space. It says that we value our downtown and will invest in its success, creating better destinations for people, and more reasons to be part of Appleton. The library is a gateway to knowledge, opportunity and community, as well as to our downtown.
• A corollary benefit is the opportunity to create as sustainable and green a building as makes sense for operational needs and costs: as an educational and highly visible public space, this creates a statement of community values and concern for the future.

You've got a friend

Over thirty years ago, a group of community-minded citizens got together, determined that their public library should be better. They formed the Friends of Appleton Library (FOAL) and began supporting library programs, working for an improved facility and helping the library develop and grow. FOAL has been helping and giving since 1975. From their beginning, they've provided community to their members, created and promoted programs, and been a voice for our library in the wider community.

The Friends' Building Committee was key in passing the 1978 referendum that led to the construction of our current building. Once the new building was underway, FOAL focused more on program support, and began the FOAL Endowment Fund to create ongoing support for library programs.

In 1985, a group of individuals who felt the need to create more and broader support for the library set up the Appleton Library Foundation. The Foundation undertook a five year campaign and built up a endowment of over a million dollars, with proceeds used as grants for library materials, programs, technology and other innovative ideas. Within a few years, FOAL decided to invest their endowment as a designated fund of the Foundation. Since they began giving grants, the Foundation has given the library nearly a million dollars, while maintaining a strong principle balance in their endowment fund.

With increased support from staff -- especially Elizabeth Eisen, who coordinated volunteers and adult programs -- and a succession of good presidents and committee chairs, FOAL grew stronger, with hundreds of members. They began doing joint planning with the Foundation and helped with fundraisers. The Foundation began funding a library staff person to recruit and coordinate volunteers. The two groups were beginning to move closer together.

In 2008, the Foundation invested their endowment funds through our Community Foundation, leaving their Board with less need to oversee investments. Their new strategic plan called for more collaborations with the Friends. With agreement of FOAL leadership, the Foundation hired Peter Pearson of The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library to conduct a feasibility study of merging the two groups. Pearson's study, in the Fall of 2008, suggested that merger was indeed feasible, provided advice based on the experience of other libraries, and identified several considerations for decision. The two boards continued to discuss the issues, and agreed to hold a joint facilitated planning retreat in the Spring of 2009. The two boards continued to discuss the issues, and agreed on a joint facilitated planning retreat in the Spring of 2009.

Nearly all members of the two boards, including two library board members, attended the planning retreat, and were impressed by the amount of consensus. There was strong agreement on a single statement:

The merger of the Appleton Library Foundation and the Friends of Appleton Library would provide a unified entity which would be more efficient with added functionality, resulting in more resources for the Appleton Public Library – and provide higher visibility in the community and a better utilization of volunteer talents.

It was also agreed the group would work in several areas:

• Advocate for the library
• Fund-raise for the library
• Support programs and services
• Advise and support library staff
• Thrive as a membership organization
• Marketing and public awareness

Deciding that the merged group would be called FOAL, the group charged the two board presidents and the library director with implementing the merger. With generous pro bono legal help from McCarty Law, merger documents and bylaws were drafted and approved by the two groups in the next few months. The initial board of the new FOAL is comprised of all the members of both existing boards who wished to continue, until the membership elects a new board at next year's annual meeting.

After two meetings of the new FOAL Board, they now have: elected officers, a finance policy and budget, an agreement with the Library Board, several committees in place and several in process, and a plan to hire an executive director. They're working on a new logo and thinking about a website, even while several fund-raising events are underway or in planning. It's been a busy time for the library staff, in helping facilitate these efforts, but we're excited and grateful for the thoughtful volunteer efforts of so many good people -- our friends.

Give a Child a Book

Reading to kids is vital. On the Washington Post site last week, there was a terrific column including some big points. Authoritatively:

the single best predictor of how a child will do over 12 years of school is: how much s/he was read to prior to the first day of first grade.

if we want to change America, we need to change how parents read to their children.

This reading requires two-way interaction--lots of talk. So the parents are pushing their children, and all they need to do is read aloud, with joy and talk. Doing this is like treasure and gold for a child’s life and with libraries, does not have to cost either.

Which is why our Friends' Give a Child a Book campaign, now in its 11th year, is important to the future of our community. The library encourages parents to read to kids, encourages kids to read on their own and gives them the means. Putting books directly into the hands of children who would not otherwise get them is a big step, and our Friends group works together with other local libraries to distribute books via the Salvation Army and the Boys & Girls Club.


New books or cash donations may be brought to the library through Dec. 12.

Getting our act(ors) together

Like most public libraries, we depend upon -- and need -- a broad range of community support. And like many, we are lucky to have organized supporters who work to improve and assist the library. At the Appleton Public Library, we are fortunate enough to have both a friends group (Friends of Appleton Library, or FOAL) and a Foundation (Appleton Library Foundation, Inc.). Now the two are on the verge of merging into a single, and stronger, organization.

The Friends have been around since the mid-1970s, were formed to support the library, as well as in support of the need to improve library service and possibly get a new library building. They were heavily involved in political support for the 1978 referendum which resulted in our current building. They created the "walking books" program of delivery to the homebound. They started an endowment fund which supports programs. Currently they have about 250 members, run two book sales each year as their main fundraiser and coordinate the annual holiday "Give a Child a Book" campaign. The provide the library with volunteer and financial support, particularly with regard to programming. They have a grass roots focus and an emphasis on fellowship.

The Foundation was started in 1985 by supporters who wanted to focus on providing broad financial support for any library services which would give our library "the edge of excellence", including materials, technology and marketing in addition to programs. They had a successful five year capital campaign to jump start their endowment fund and make annual grants from a budget approved by the Library Board, according to their Gifts Policy. They do an annual end of year donation request letter and hold an annual fundraising dinner. The Foundation also serves as the fiscal agent for the Friends.

With two wonderful, successful groups, why would we want to change? For one reason: to focus community and staff efforts and library goals and plans. With two groups, two boards, two structures, two sets of meetings, there are areas of overlap and there are gaps. There is a lack of clear public identity as to who is the library support group -- and there's occasional public confusion. There is additional overhead for staff in care and feeding of two organizations.

Public funding is increasingly tight at the same time that library use is growing dramatically. To maintain and grow our services, we need ever more volunteers, ever more private dollars and ever more people willing and able to speak up about the value of the library to decision makers. We need an active community willing to focus on and engage library service needs.

Inspired by a program exploring similar mergers at last year's Public Library Association conference, we started looking at pros and cons of changing. Our Friends and Foundation have been talking for most of the last year and are now looking at a merger agreement. We did a study, conducted by Library Strategies, to identify issues and opportunities. After reflection and discussion, we had a facilitated planning session in which members of both boards rolled up their sleeves and set priorities. The help of an attorney to see to the legal issues has been crucial.

When approved, the new body will be called the Friends of Appleton Library, but will be incorporated like the Foundation. It will be organized like the current Friends, but with some of the Foundation's business structure. And we'll ask everyone serving on both boards to join as members of the initial board of the merged entity. And then we'll need to develop new policies and a new budget.

This has been and will be a lot of work in the short run, but we have little doubt of the long term payoff. The single support group would be able to have a staff, start a capital campaign to help with a new library building, grow their membership and be an increasingly strong voice to recruit volunteers, promote library services and advocate for the library.

We're excited to see what happens next!

"The best gift to give a child is a book"

A book can make a difference in the life of a child.

Our community is fortunate to have an active and effective Library Friends group, which for the past ten years has worked to gather and distribute books for children at the holidays. At today's Friends meeting, Ralph Dorn, our hardworking Children's Committee chair, shared the following, which he also submitted to the Post Crescent. The staff joins in thanking Ralph, the committee, our Friends and everyone who contributed:

GIFT OF BOOKS: A sincere thank you to those who contributed to the 10th annual Give a Child a Book Drive sponsored by the Appleton Friends of the Library — 3,737 new and gently used books were donated, the second-highest total in our 10 years of collecting and donating books for local underprivileged children. Books were distributed to four local organizations that serve children in need:

• the Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley,
• Harbor House,
• the Salvation Army and
  
• the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley.
  

And $952 was donated for the purchase of additional books by the children's department of the Appleton Public Library. Many area schools also participated in the book drive, with Horace Mann Middle School in Neenah, Huntley Elementary and East High in Appleton leading the way in donated books. Thanks also to Jane O'Hagan, DeDe Corbett and Dick and Donna Kilsdonk for helping me count and sort thousands of books. The best gift to give a child is a book. It opens the world of knowledge and understanding for them.

Ralph Dorn,
Appleton Public Library Children's Committee chair,
Appleton

(reprinted by permission of Ralph Dorn)

Book sale - recycling the collection & donations

Good things about the Friends' fall book sale:

1. it recycles used materials for fresh users
2. it raises money to support library services
3. it makes books available cheaply
   
4. it's a community event
5. it's done with the hard work of dedicated volunteers
   

You've got a Friend

This is National Friends of Libraries Week. Here at APL, we have been blessed with a terrific Friends group. I sent the following to our staff, our Board and our mailing list:


The Friends of Appleton Library (FOAL) are holding a membership drive Oct. 21-25. Look for a Friends member at a table near the circulation desk. They will offer the opportunity to become a Friends member and show your support for our library. New members will be entered into a drawing to win a basket of goodies including chocolates, gift cards from CSI and Harmony Café and more! Everyone is welcome to purchase the brand new canvas tote bags sporting the APL logo for only $8.00. The table will be staffed on Tuesday through Friday from 2:00-6:00 pm and on Saturday from 1:00-5:00 pm.

Why join FOAL?
The Appleton Public Library needs friends – and the Friends need you!

FOAL demonstrates commitment & support for the Library, by providing:

• funds to support library programming and marketing
• political support and advocacy -- FOAL helped the library get its current building, supported the 1996 expansion, and continues to work for future improvements.
• many volunteer opportunities & support for volunteer efforts
• assistance with library programs
• sponsorship of the annual “Give a Child a Book” campaign, providing thousands of books as holiday gifts to children in low-income families
• support to the FOAL/Frank P. Young Scholarship, educating the next generation of librarians
• support and appreciation for the APL staff, with an annual holiday breakfast and other assistance
• a large membership in the Friends send a message to elected officials that the community supports their library

What do you get out of it?

• The feeling of knowing that you’re part of the library’s work – supporting community, families and education
• The satisfaction of positive civic engagement – working together with others to make things better
• A perk for FOAL members: exclusive access to a “Preview Sale” at the FOAL Used Book Sales in May and November.
• New Lifetime members get an attractive and useful new canvas tote bag sporting the APL logo.

Annual dues to join the Friends are tax deductible

• Individual membership: $10
• Family: $25
• Supporting: $35
• Life membership: $100 (one-time payment)

Checks should be made payable to the Appleton Library Foundation with a note of FOAL membership; stop and talk to one of the Friends this week or mail your membership payment to the library.

Please consider joining the Friends today! FOAL has supported the Library since 1975; we need and value your support and participation! See http://www.apl.org/friends.html.