Friends of the Library: Tools and resources
Brooke Doyle, Program Manager, WebJunction
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06 January 2025
A Friends of the Library group can provide great assistance to libraries—often in the form of fundraising, advocacy, or reaching underserved groups. These resources can help you think about starting a Friends group, revitalizing one, or boosting their effectiveness.
Asheboro Public Library on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
United for Libraries
A go-to spot for resources and training to support Friends groups is ALA’s United for Libraries.
- Organizational tools for Friends groups
- Libraries need Friends: Starting a Friends group or revitalizing the one you have (PDF)
- Working together: Roles and responsibilities guidelines (PDF) Understanding the different roles and responsibilities for the board, the director, and the Friends group is a great place to start.
- State Friends groups
- Sample bylaws for Friends groups
- Sample mission statement for Friends groups
- Promotion and celebration ideas for Friends groups
- Friendraising and fundraising ideas for friends groups and libraries of all sizes, United for Libraries webinar featuring voices from three different Friends of the Library groups describing their unique and scalable fundraisers and how they work with the library to raise funds and support. (This requires a free ALA account to access).
- Friends group/foundation grants & awards
- National Friends of Libraries Week, usually hosted during the fourth week in October
- Book sales, with creative approaches and examples from libraries
Resources from around the country
Several state libraries and associations have training videos and resources available online. While much of this content is generalizable, specific state regulations and resources should be consulted.
- Friend/foundation relationship video from the Wyoming State Library is a useful explanation of how these different entities relate.
- The Vermont Department of Libraries has a short video directed at boards on Working with your Friends of the Library.
- The Connecticut State Library provides a number of resources to library Friends groups.
- The Division for Library Development works closely with the Friends of Connecticut Libraries helping local communities start Friends, providing information and resources to established groups, offering advice and consulting assistance to Friends and maintaining an extensive collection of resources.
- The Handbook for Connecticut Library Friends groups, created with the help of Library Services and Technology Act funding and last updated in 2022, shows how to start and run a Friends of the Library.
- The New Hampshire Library Trustee Association maintains a Friends of the Library resource page to support Friends groups.
- Friends of Kentucky Libraries regularly shares tips and information on their blog, for example, Making the most of Friends of the Library Week: Ideas and inspiration.
Books
- 101+ great ideas for libraries and friends by Sally Gardner Reed and Beth Nawalinski. This book includes tips and ideas from Friends groups on a variety of subjects including advocacy and public awareness.
- Even more great ideas for libraries and friends by Sally Gardner Reed and Beth Nawalinski. The follow-up to the successful first edition contains all new ideas on advocacy, public awareness, and other issues related to Friends groups and libraries.
- The good, the great, and the unfriendly: A librarian's guide to working with friends groups by Sally Gardner Reed. This 2017 book helps guide you in establishing and working with your Friends group effectively. It includes extensive, helpful appendices.
- Beyond book sales: The complete guide to raising real money for your library, by Susan Dowd.
- All ages welcome: Recruiting and retaining younger generations for library boards, friends groups, and foundations, by Lina Bertinelli, Madeline Jarvis, Kathy Kosinski, Tess Wilson
Additional WebJunction resources
Visit the WebJunction topic area for Friends, trustees & volunteers to find more, including:
- Revitalizing Library Volunteer Engagement, a webinar exploring trends in library volunteerism and presenting practical steps to recruit skilled volunteers to help grow your community of library advocates and supporters.
- New directions for library volunteers, an article with tips and ideas to consider as you recruit volunteers for your Friends groups.
- Advocacy in Action, a comprehensive set of WebJunction resources, designed to walk you through the five phases of a local library awareness campaign, to showcase the vital role of the library in your community and educate the public about the critical funding issues libraries face.