Massachusetts Public Library Trustees Handbook
| Chapter 10. Friends and Volunteers | ||
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Table of Contents
Friends of the Library are groups of citizens who join together to support, improve, and promote libraries. They understand the importance of library service to the community and work in a variety of ways to help provide quality service and to stimulate the use of the library.
Friends are in the unique position of being able to make enormous contributions in several areas: fund raising, services, public relations, advocacy, volunteerism, and community involvement. Their activities change as needs change. Friends usually select a limited number of activities to emphasize annually.
The roles of trustees, librarians and Friends of the Library are related but distinct, and the distinctiveness of these separate roles must be recognized and clarified. Friends can be invaluable members of the team when organized carefully, but if the Friends' role is not clearly defined and structured, the library's operation and public image will be affected negatively.
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| Public and School Library Cooperation |  |
Why Organize Friends? |