Throughout the years, the Friends of the Monticello-Union Township Public Library (MUTPL) have dedicated many hours to making an impact on the local library and the surrounding community.
This group made up of friendly and committed volunteers, led by President Susie Ezra, meets regularly to organize book sales to raise funds in support of the library’s programs.
The Friends get all their books for the sales from community and library donations and what’s left behind gets donated back to the community.
“We want to keep the books in the community, what we don’t sell, we take to the Salvation Army or other organizations,” Ezra, the group’s President said.
The Friends also donate the surplus books that aren’t sold in the sales to preschools while the military books get sent to the American Legion’s library.
“We have book sales throughout the year, and we raise money for the library. Usually we give around $4,000 or more annually for the library’s programs,” Ezra shared. “We meet, have our book sales, and decide what projects we’ll support.”
What’s unique about the Friends’ sales is that instead of pricing books individually, they operate on a “free will” donation basis, meaning that customers can take as many books as they like and contribute whatever amount they’re able to.
Several members noted how well the system works, sometimes balancing itself out.
“Lots of people that come in are very generous with their donations. But there are some people that come in that really couldn’t afford these books if they didn’t have our book sale to go to” Martha Slopsema, one of the members explained.
Each book sale seems to be reaching more and more people throughout the community.
The last Friends book sale made roughly $1,500, which is impressive for a free will donation.
The group shared a heartwarming story of a woman who could only afford 75 cents for a few books.
“After she left, a man standing behind her gave us $20 for her books. And we have a lot of people like that that come up and don’t want any books, just to donate. The public is very generous with us, in fact, we make more money on a free will than the actual price,” Marilyn Whitney, another member shared.
Inside the Monticello Library, the Friends have several walls of books for sale set up.
They have their wall section of books, which makes the most sales, then they have a free rack that’s beloved and finally, the newest addition to the sales is a much larger children’s section.
“We rotate books every 2 weeks. If people are looking for something we don’t have, we’ll take them to the back room and see if we have it there,” Ezra explained.
The perfect example of how the Friends’ fundraising efforts go directly back into supporting the library and its programs is the library’s Story Walk, which is a fun and unique reading experience.
“The library asked us for a special donation for the Story Walk last year, and we were able to help them out,” Slopsema added.
The most recent project, being the reorganizing of their children’s sale section, was moved to the south wall of the library to create more space.
“Redoing the children’s section was when we had to stay longer the most. But we take turns doing different things like sometimes a few will be in the back organizing books while a few others are stocking the shelves so we kind of alternate, we have a pattern. We would love to have more people join, we could use the help mostly when we do the book sales because we have so many books to put out,” Ezra shared.
For those interested in joining the Friends of the Library, the process is very simple.
“There’s a $5 annual membership fee and people can leave their name, address, phone number, email address and date with a library staff member to join and start attending meetings,” Linda Zetee, another member added.
For many involved with the Friends, the group is way more than just a way to give back but a way to connect with the community.
“It’s an opportunity to meet people, find out about books others are reading, and volunteer for the community,” one of the members who joined after attending one of the book sales, Shell Angeloni, shared.
The reason this organization has been so successful is not just because of all of their dedication and love for the community but it’s also because these ladies respect one another so much, it’s truly inspiring.
“We get along well too. Like this morning, we got a tote full of old books and we all discussed what to do. I mean, not one person took over, we all made sure everyone could voice their opinions. And I think that’s why we get along well because we work well together,” Ezra shared.
For the Friends of the Monticello Library, it’s clear that their work is not just about books. It’s about community, kindness, and making a lasting impact on the people they serve.
This post was originally published on here
