FLS: Friends of Libraries Section

Our Mission

FLS creates a network to connect and inspire Friends groups
in all types of libraries to support the New York library community.

FLS Commitment to Diversity

The Friends of Libraries Section (FLS) of the New York Library Association embraces and promotes diversity and inclusion in all their forms.
Download the FLS Commitment to Diversity.

FLS Introductory Video

Watch our video! Click the thumbnail. (This will take you to a YouTube page in a new tab.)
 

FLS Current News and Events

Special Election for the newly formed position of FLS Councilor

The election runs from September 14 - 29.

The Friends of Libraries Section is having a Special Election for the newly formed position of FLS Councilor as determined by the By-Laws amendment vote held in June 2023. The FLS Councilor shall serve a term of three years representing the Section on NYLA Council. The elected candidate will start their three year term beginning after the FLS Annual Membership Meeting on November 15, 2023. 

To VOTE: Go to NYLA.org and login to your account, then select “Voting – Polls/Elections” The election runs from September 14 - 29.

Meet our candidate!

Jerrie Grantham, currently a Member At Large of the FLS Executive Board and the Volunteer Services Manager at the Queens Public Library (QPL), where she coordinates Friends groups among the many branches of QPL. She is also the Co-Chair for the Marketing and Outreach Committee for President’s Council for Racial Equity at QPL.

Position Statement:
I have had the honor of managing the Friends of Queens Public Library for the past five years. Friends of the Library groups often reflect the best of what our communities have to offer. Friends give their time and talents to help support one of the last true bastions of democracy, the library. Fundraising and planning activities to support the staff and communities our libraries serve is no small feat. I welcome the chance to showcase the best of what the Friends of Libraries Section can do and collaborate with others across the state to ensure the growth of this vital network.

Make sure you cast your vote before September 29th! 
 

Introducing the FLS Toolbox!!

FLS will be rolling out thematic toolkits on topics of interest to Friends. The first of these toolkits is now available!

The FLS Toolbox can be found on the Highlights/News tab on any F:LS webpage.

Read or download the FLS Toolkit to Start a Friends of the Library Group as a PDF..

FLS Connections!  Membership Engagement

Thursday, October 12, at 4 p.m. via Zoom (registration required)

If you are looking for some tried and true approaches to grow your Friends in a variety of ways, you’ll want to attend the next FLS Connections! when we will tackle the topic of membership engagement. We also felt this subject was timely as a run up to National Friends of Libraries Week when many Friends choose to hold membership drives.

Click here for more details and registration information.

Save the date: FLS Connections! on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, at 4 p.m. when we’ll discuss “Making the Most of National Friends of Libraries Week” with Jillian Wentworth, Manager of Marketing and Membership for United for Libraries, a division of the American Library Association. 

Read the latest FLS Newsletter

August 2023 (Volume 9 #4)

FLS Friends News and Notes 2023 Conference Centerfold

Volunteer with the Friends of Libraries Section

Fill out an FLS Active Member Form to get more involved with the Section - there's all kinds of opportunities, large and small.

FLS presents Resoucre Pages

Resources for Friends Groups Supporting Small and Rural Libraries

In a survey of Friends groups serving small and rural libraries in New York State which was conducted by FLS/NYLA in early 2021, challenges were identified in the areas of Membership (including Active Participation and Volunteer Engagement), Leadership, Diversity, Fundraising, and the Purpose and Mission of Friends organizations.

The members of the FLS Task Force on Friends and Rural Libraries developed potential suggestions and best practices with an emphasis on Friends groups that support small and rural libraries.

See the Resource Page here!

FLS executive board members Lynne Madden and Lisa C. Wemett have presented Beyond Younger Volunteers: Helping Friends Groups Survive and Thrive at both the Small Libraries Summer Symposium at the OWWL Library System (a one-day conference empowering small libraries to improve operations, form partnerships, and meet the changing needs of their communities) in July 2022 and at the NYLA Annual Conference in Saratoga Springs in November 2022.

Their presentation addresses the distinct challenges to Friends groups that support rural and small libraries and introduces the new resource page developed by the FLS Task Force on Friends and Rural Libraries. See more about this program on the FLS Events page in the 2022 NYLA Annual Conference section.

Resources for Library System Friends Councils - coming soon

Access FLS Resource Pages and the FLS Toolbox from the Highlights/News tab on any F:LS webpage.

Membership in FLS

Please consider selecting FLS as your primary section when you join NYLA or renew your NYLA membership.  
It's the Friendly thing to do.  
You may add Sections or Round Tables to your existing NYLA membership.
Click here for step-by-step instructions on adding FLS to your NYLA membership! Thanks in advance for your support!
Click here to complete the Friends Group Organizational Membership - Key Volunteers Information Form to be submitted as part of a Friends Group Organizational Membership.

Would you like to be more involved with FLS? Click here for our Active Member Form.