Membership in Friends of the Library

Membership income makes the library even better

Individual Membership, $15; Family, $20; Gold Card, $30; Platinum Card, $50; Business, $50; Benefactor, $100; and Patron Member, $500.

All Friends of the Library Family Memberships and above may, at no additional cost, register the children living in their home from the age of presechool to 4th grade (Kids' Club) or 5th grade and up (Young Readers League) in our Young Friends of the Library Club. Benefits include: Colorful personal membership card; special member party once each year; buy one get one free on all books in the Children and Youth Department at Books Again Used Book Store; and special benefits for members at Library Summer Reading Events. See membership form for details.

Click here for a membership form . Print the form, fill in requested information, and mail to Friends of the Pueblo City-County Library District, 622 S Union, Pueblo, Colorado 81004 , or ask for a membership form at any library location.

Membership benefits:

Individual/Family Members: Receive 10% discount at Books Again and mailed copy of News & Events.

Gold/Platinum/Business Members: Receive 10% discount at Books Again, mailed copy of newsletter and a valuable premium.

Benefactor/Patron Members: Receive 20% discount at Books Again, mailed copy of newsletter and valuable premium.

All Members: Admittance to the Special One Day Preview Sale, for Members Only, before our huge Semi-Annual Books-by-the-Bag Sale held in May and October. Invitations to unique Friends’ programs and annual meeting program, including dinner and entertainment, and elected membership to the Friends of the Library Board of Directors.

Friends of the Library Annual Luncheon and Business Meeting

The Friends of the Pueblo City/County Library District held their Annual Luncheon and Business Meeting at the Rawlings Library on Friday, April 20, 2018.

Among other items of business, the following slate of FOL Board officers was elected for 2018:

• President - Dustin Hodge
• Vice President - Evelyn Clayton
• Secretary - Monica Ayala
• Treasurer - Leslie Carroll

The featured speaker was Dustin Hodge , who gave an interesting and inspiring presentation, accompanied by slides, on his visit to PCCLD's "Sister Library" in Vietnam. Dustin drew parallels between the "Sister" libraries in terms of their many benefits, especially for children and adolescents, in Pueblo and Vietnam.

Mark Clark, Ph.D, was honored with the 8th annual "Friend of the Year" award.

• Mark has volunteered at the Books Again bookstore since 2011. His major contribution for the past five years
  has been the management of the bookstore's major sales, including the twice-annual Books-by-the Bag sale,
  the Friends of the Libriary Appreciation Sale and the two 50 Percent Off Sales.
• His dedication to customer service, as well as his skill at preparing the inventory for the sales, has generated more than $83,000 in gross sales for Books Again over the past five years. Mark is nenowed for his negotiation skills and ability to sell anything.
• Mark enjoys a relationship of mutual respect with the other volunters; he is modest and optimistic, finding the silver lining whenever possible, which the other volunteers appreciate.
• In addition to managing the major sales, Mark also serves on the Books Again management team and is the day manager of the store one day a week. As an indication of the time Mark devotes to Books Again, in 2017, he logged 520 hours, the equivalent of thirteen 40-hour weeks.
• Mark and his wife of fifty years, Reiko, who have two married daughters and three grandchildren, are both long-time volunteers and financial supporters of the Pueblo City-County Library District. They moved to Pueblo in
  2011. Before retirement, Mark was dean and administrator at several universities for more than 30 years and
  has always believed in the power of education to transform lives.
• He is a passionate collector of Japanese woodblock prints and shares his collection and knowledge with many throughout Pueblo and the nation.

Caroline Parsley, outgoing FOL Board Member, was recognized for her dedicated service.

Click here for photos of the 2018 Friends Annual Luncheon and Meeting.

Accomplishments May 2017 - April 2018 -- Our 58th Year

Here is a partial list of what the Friends of the Library accomplished in 2017 - 2018:

Educational and Recreational Activities

The Friends had a direct, positive impact on many Pueblo County youth in the following ways:

• Judged 1,232 entries in the Scary Story Contest, with winners receiving the booklet of winning stories and a gift certificate to Books Again, and a Folkmanis puppet.
• Sponsored the Friends of the Library Youth Creative Writing Contest with 90 entries.
• Helped sponsor the annual Pueblo Girls Essay Contest for girls grades 3-5. Each grade winner received an American Girl Doll and book, and all runners-up received an American Girl book at the 4th Annual High Tea Awards Ceremony.
• Sponsored the Create Your Own Dr. Seuss Character Contest by providing Books Again gift certificates to the winners and refreshments at the awards ceremony. Winners also received a booklet of the winning entries and a Dr. Seuss prize package. There were 2,040 figments of stuedents' imaginations received!
• Will present Books Again gift certificates to the winners of the Poetry Contest awards ceremony in May.
• Donated $6,500 to the Pueblo City-County Library District's Summer Reading program.
• Donated $5,000 to the youth reading program.
• Donated $11,500 to the Library District for the All Pueblo Reads program.

Informational and Cultural Activities:

• The Project Selection Committee of the Friends awarded funds that totaled $37,497.25 to fulfill 41 grant requests from library employees.
• Provided $3,000 towards the printing and postage for News & Events. The newsletter is an important communication tool for informing the community of library programs, news services, and Friends' activities. The newsletter reached over 22,000 people and organizations last year.
• Selected Donna Conley, Mary Linder, Sara Schwartz and Wanda Toepper as their honorees for the Outstanding Women Awards in celebration of Women's History Month.
• Awarded one scholarship to a library district employee seeking a Masters of Library Science.
• Held the annual meeting on April 20.

What makes this possible?

To make these contributions possible, the Friends raise funds through memberships and the sale of used books.

• As of April 21, 2018, memberships total 1,261.
• Books Again,the FOL used book store, had gross sales in 2017 of $106,206 and profits of $54,775.
• During 2016, Books Again volunteers donated more than 8,226 hours to operate the store.
• Since Books Again opened in July of 2005, over $660,068 in profits have been provided to the Friends of the Library to fund projects at the Pueblo Library District.
• Gave away approximately 400 books to children at the Kids Parade.