Keep It Growing: Special Resources for Established Friends Groups

Continuing to develop your library’s Friends group is vital to sustaining the organization long-term.  Offered here are resources useful to community volunteers involved in established Friends of the Library groups, library managers, including directors of “one person” small and rural libraries, and library trustees.

Stay motivated by giving regular and sustained effort toward membership recruitment and volunteer engagement.  Networking within your community and constantly sharing your message will revitalize your core supporters and help to maintain the group’s crucial advocacy work for the library.

Take a deep dive into these handouts from the FLS/NYLA regional workshop of the same title.  Assign a topic to an individual task force or committee chair or a team lead and have them give a synopsis of what they read to encourage a group discussion at your next meeting.

Another approach: assign some homework.  Have the Friends board members all read the same handout, take notes on their reading, and come back together to share how they feel the ideas could apply to your organization.  What got them excited?  Is the group ready to try something new?

By investing time with these resources in partnership with your key volunteers, your Friends of the Library organization will be able to:

  1. Analyze the implications for the organization in light of what today’s volunteers want to experience when investing their time.
  2. Evaluate why a Friends group might need to be revitalized.
  3. Explain types of volunteer engagement and recognition.
  4. Implement strategies to keep volunteers involved with the organization at a level at which they are comfortable.
  5. Compare and contrast the effectiveness of various methods for volunteer recruitment.
  6. Discuss the importance of accurate recordkeeping for membership retention.
  7. Design a plan to organize a membership drive in a library setting.
  8. Incorporate approaches for networking with other nonprofits and businesses, achieving greater community outreach.

Library workers and community volunteers who want to grow an established Friends group, help maintain the organization, and continue their work for the library in the future will find much to ponder here.  These resources emphasize best practices using tried-and true ideas from a variety of active Friends groups across New York State and nationwide.

We urge to break this work into two parts.  First, explore some exceptional ways to engage today’s volunteers who are looking for meaningful work that makes an impact on their community, using their well-honed skills and expertise.  How can the Friends reimagine their group’s leadership, with presidential teams, committees, and task forces to allow volunteers flexibility and reasonable time commitments? Clear expectations, open communications, and delineation of roles for staff, trustees, and community volunteers are all vital, achievable steps. Encouraging leadership development, succession planning strategies, and volunteer recognition each play a role in building meaningful relationships which will help retain members long-term.

Resources for Part I:

Continue your work by exploring some practical systems for volunteer recruitment and engagement in Friends of the Library groups. Membership drives and other tactics for “Friends-raising” will keep your library’s Friends group vital, helping to sustain the organization long-term.

Focus on reinvigorating the Friends membership base so the organization can carry out their mission for their community library. Your discussions will center on revitalizing the core members of the group to carry out their crucial advocacy work for your community libraries by implementing strategies that keep volunteers involved at a level they are comfortable with.

Engagement with community partners by networking with businesses and nonprofit organizations will help the Friends membership be more representative of the community the library serves. Renew and engage the members of your group, turning your core supporters into a strong, active volunteer force that can help support the library with extras not attainable with its standard operating budget.  Continuing to develop a corps of library civic leaders for your library is crucial for sustaining the organization for many years to come.

Resources for Part II:

The content here was developed by the Friends of Libraries Section of the New York Library Association in 2024.  It was compiled and written by Lisa C. Wemett, FLS Coordinator for Professional Development.  The Friends of Libraries Section is a unit of the New York Library Association, 6021 State Farm Road, Guilderland, NY 12084. (518) 432-6952.  For more information or assistance, contact FLS/NYLA anytime at FLS.NYLA@yahoo.com.  Learn more at www.nyla.org/friends.