“Happiness is having your own library card.” ― Sally Brown, Peanuts
Friends of the Queen Annes County Library is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization comprised of individuals, businesses, and civic groups who advocate for Queen Annes County’s libraries, generate financial support, and work to increase awareness of the wide range of resources and services available at our county’s two library branches in Centreville and on Kent Island. Complimenting but operating independently from the library system and without direct government funding, members volunteer their money, time, and talents to build bridges between our libraries and the citizens those libraries serve.
Established in 2013, Friends of the Queen Annes County Library now consists of over 500 members and donates tens of thousands of dollars each year to help Queen Anne’s libraries remain optimally operational. Since the group’s founding, the county library’s friends have contributed more than $200,000 through dues, public fundraising events, and grants.
Ashley MacLeay, the Publicity and Outreach Chair of the Friends of the QAC Library says that supporting the libraries provides both “immediate positive results and enduring potential through various efforts undertaken to continually improve the quality of life within the community. The library is meant to be a community hub,” she says, “one of the things that holds us together, a sort of town center where we can come together and where people with ideas and a passion for many different types of literacy – educational, computer, nutritional, legal, medical, just to name a few – can find what they need. Libraries aren’t only about what’s inside their walls, they’re about opening doors.”
“A library in the middle of a community is a cross between an emergency exit, a life-raft and a festival. They are cathedrals of the mind; hospitals of the soul; theme parks of the imagination.” ― journalist and author, Caitlin Moran
Since libraries must fulfill the ever-changing dynamic needs of the public, these institutions are no longer merely lenders of books. Projects that Friends of the Library help support include the Reading Pro Awards which encourages, challenges, and rewards student readers during the school year and summer reading programs for youngsters, teens, and adults that benefits thousands of attendees over 150 different scheduled sessions.
Guys Read is a program where adult men read aloud to elementary school boys to encourage the love of literacy in young male readers and thanks to our libraries, county children have access to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a free 60-volume set of children’s books mailed once a month to participants.
There’s a sign language program available. A kiosk in Crumpton where up-county residents can borrow and return materials. Outdoor presentations like Story Walks at local parks. Lectures. Book clubs. Veterans groups. Depositories of local historical artifacts. Copy services. Notary services. Proctoring services for students. If you need it, the library can probably help you get it.
To help prove that point, the Library of Things is where holders of a library card can check out, in alphabetical order: board games, clothing irons, diagnostic code readers for motor vehicles, fishing poles, internet hotspots, Legos, portable DVD players, STEM kits, story kits for adults with memory issues or cognitive development impairments, and last but certainly not least, ukuleles.
The Friends of the Library stock the book nooks at both library locations where patrons can purchase used books for a dollar.
Recent library based successes celebrated with the support of the Friends of the Library include the renovation of the Kent Island branch – a modernization that features more meeting and study spaces and an expanded children’s section – and the purchase of a state-of-the-art mobile library that provides services and access to members of the community who may face challenges visiting one of the branches.
The new Maker Space at the Kent Island branch is a design, craft, and fabrication center that offers to the public, for free or at the costs of materials, art and education technology ranging from sewing and embroidery machines to 3D printers, laser engravers, and digital design centers. The equipment is available on a first-come first-serve waiting list basis and time may be limited, but there will always be someone available to help and the creative possibilities are vast.
Annual Meeting
The Friends of the Queen Anne’s County Library are currently collecting gently used books and puzzles for the spring version of their twice-annual book sale. This season’s sale will be held at the Kent Island facility from noon to five p.m. on Friday, April 19 and on Saturday, April 20 from 9 a.m. to noon. Friends members also get a sneak preview on Thursday April 18 from 5-7 p.m. Thousands of used books – novels, coffee table books, cookbooks, travel books, biographies, histories, and children’s books – can be purchased for a dollar each. Picture books and pocket sized paperbacks sell four for a buck. All proceeds support the Friends in their efforts to help our county’s library facilities and services continue to grow and flourish.
Books and puzzles for the sale can be donated on Wednesday, April 17 from noon to 6 p.m. and on Thursday, April 18 from 10 1.m to 2 p.m. Donated materials should be in at least good condition and are limited to two bags per person.
As with any community based effort, volunteers are always appreciated and can help in a number of ways, including serving on such committees as fundraising, membership and community outreach, or book sales. There are open seats available on the board. Ashley MacLeay says that the organization encourages initiative and imagination among its members and that when anyone has an idea that might help support the libraries, the Friends of the Queen Anne’s County Library want to hear it.
The author Sidney Sheldon once said, “Libraries change lives for the better.”
So do their friends.
Visit the Friends of the Queen Annes County Library on social media or www.FriendsofQACLibrary.org. For readers interested in volunteering or obtaining more information the organization can be reached at [email protected] or P.O. Box 482, Grasonville, MD 21638. Individual membership is $25.00. Financial donations are tax-deductible.
More information about library services is available at the Queen Anne’s County Library’s website, https://www.qaclibrary.org/
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