A little help from a friend

  • Shannon Sessions<br>Lynnwood / Mountlake Terrace Enterprise editor
  • Monday, March 3, 2008 6:39am

LYNNWOOD — As part of his daily walk through the Lynnwood Civic Center, Donald Hansen likes to make a detour into the library to see what’s new at the Friends of the Lynnwood Library book sale.

He carefully scans the wide variety of spines for, primarily, histories and autobiographies.

Hansen said it’s an important piece of his ritual because the Friends’ sale “has a great selection and price — you can’t beat it.”

Hansen estimates, in the more than 10 years he has visited the library, he has bought hundreds of books from the non-profit organization’s sale.

“It’s fantastic — you could build up a large personal library for a very little price,” he said.

Hansen has also donated quite a few books back to the sale.

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Longtime Friend of the Lynnwood Library Lois Rule said, “It’s like the best recycling center I’ve ever seen…. I’ve seen one book come through five times.”

She added, some people buy and donate books so often they mark their name in them, so they don’t buy them again. This has been going on in Lynnwood since 1979, she said.

“We’ve seen (the Lynnwood Library) through all of its renovations,” Rule said.

All of the proceeds from the Friends of the Lynnwood Library book sale goes right back into the Lynnwood library. The Mountlake Terrace and Brier libraries also have Friends of the Library groups.

According to Lynnwood’s managing librarian, Michael Delury, the Friends book sale, which has prices such as 25 cents for a paper back and 50 cents for a hard back, brings in about $1,000 to $1,500 a month.

“That’s a lot of books being sold,” he said.

Because of the cuts in Sno-Isle’s budget in recent years, there hasn’t been a more crucial time for the Friends groups.

“We couldn’t do nearly as much as we do without them,” Delury said.

While the Lynnwood Friends is an official 301(c)3 non-profit agency and separate from the library and city they reside in, “They’re very supportive of all our efforts,” Delury said.

Rule said “We used to say we would never buy books or things that Sno-Isle or the city should buy – like necessities. But things have changed — the funding for the libraries is way down and now they need us more than ever.”

Through its fund-raising efforts, the Lynnwood Friends has not only funded most of the adult programming and all the children’s programs, including buying all the puppets, instruments and more for the events, but also has bought art display cases, announcement reader boards, furniture (including the new, rare Cozy Books pieces in the children’s area) and has shared the expense with the city for some of the library’s public art pieces. They have also bought many necessities such as the shopping baskets, mouse pads, book carts, a wheelchair for disabled patrons, signs, clocks, book shelving, seasonal decorations, books and much more. Maybe one of the more visible contributions of the Friends is the large tank filled with colorful fish, which they lease, in the centrally located area of the library — this contribution is enjoyed daily by many children and adults alike.

While children have always been the group’s main focus, said longtime Friend of the Library Rachel Meade, who is also the historian for the group, “we buy whatever there’s not money for — when Sno-Isle asks us for something, we seldom say no.”

The group also gives to other charities and has a scholarship program.

If you ask what the group needs from the public, Meade said it’s simply “more books!”

One of the most recent projects for the Friends is to create an inviting, cool space for teenagers. Furniture is now on order to fill a special area of the library, Meade said.

Meade said she has always had a love for the library and because it was an easy thing to volunteer for, she joined the Friends.

“I was always the girl who took as many books as I could up to the counter,” she said.

Delury said it’s all about taking pride in your local library, “and this groups does it in spades,” he said. “It’s great to have community volunteers who give so much of their time,” he said.

There are currently about eight active members at the Lynnwood Library. And among them, they manage to go to the library each business day and sort through newly donated books and add new books to the sale shelves.

“Each day there are new books put out,” Meade said, adding, that’s why they see folks who come to the sale often, sometimes daily.

Two of the groups newer members Doreen Farrar and Sue Hooper said they felt the library has given so much to them in the past, getting involved with the Friends was a way they could give back.

Hooper had a friend who was involved with the group. So, after she retired she decided to join as well.

Farrar said, “I was so amazed what these people do — I thought I’d join in to help.”

Be a Friend

Along with the Lynnwood Library, the Mountlake Terrace and Brier libraries also have Friends of the Library groups. For more information on how to get involved call your local library, call: in Lynnwood 425-778-2148, in Mountlake Terrace 425-776-8722 and in Brier 425-483-0888.

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