The Friends raise money to support library needs and amenities beyond the annual town budget funds.  Membership donations and book sale proceeds have allowed the Friends to build additions, renovate indoor and outdoor spaces, provide furnishings, flooring, shelving, as well as planning funds for future needs, landscaping, and the required pre-construction funds not included in the most recent State grant.  All these enhance the library experience for our patrons.

THIS IS WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR!

From funding to planning to hands-on volunteer work, there are countless ways (large and small) in which the Friends make our library more comfortable, attractive and complete.  The Friends underwrite  the color copier, museum passes, this very website and advertising for library events.  Some of the other library functions the Friends have supported:

The Summer Reading Program. Our summer reading programs, for kids and adults, encourages a love of shared reading.  Tee shirts and tote bags, with special logos, are awarded.  Friends supply Halloween hayrides, publication-day celebrations for authors, concerts and lectures and monthly artists receptions.

Staff Training.  A modern library serves as a community center, communications hub and a magnet for continuing education, along with more traditional functions of preserving and promoting the written word.  The Friends help pay for up-to-date staff training as library services are constantly redefined.

Library Materials.  Over the years, the Friends have donated additional funds to supplement town budget requests toward the purchase of new library books, DVDs, museum passes and other materials.

Planning and Construction.  The West Tisbury Library has Martha’s Vineyard’s largest materials collection and the Island’s highest rate of circulation.  Whenever the library has needed more space for collections, activities and displays, better accommodations for young adults and researchers,  a place for lectures, films and presentations, the Friends provided the needed funds to get these projects “off the ground.”  As the 2014 rebuilding evolved, Friends paid for pre-construction requirements, landscape planning and some of the furnishings.

OPPORTUNITIES

Much of what the Friends do for the library comes in the form of financial support made possible through the annual membership appeal and the summer book sale.  However, the Friends help in other ways, too.

Volunteering isn’t just shelving books.  The Friends are always looking for new members with diverse talents and skills.  If you can handle a camera, please photograph a library activity for on-going publicity.  A batch of favorite cookies for a library event or providing inspiration for a public program—the Board of Directors welcomes you interest, expertise and willingness to volunteer.  The annual book sale requires many volunteer hours to sort, price, move tables, put up signs, take out trash and staff the checkout lines.  The month of July, into early August, is the peak demand time for book sale volunteers.

The Friends of the West Tisbury Library can be reached at:
PO Box 905,
West Tisbury, MA  02575