They?re not your father?s libraries anymore, and the all-volunteer Friends of the Howard County Library is helping in the generational shift.
With the explosion of learning and its means of transmission that arrived with the Information Age, today?s modern libraries are more like bazaars of learning ? from home-accessed online and multimedia offerings to lectures, after-school programs, and special exhibits ? than fusty, Dewey Decimal System-worshipping quiet zones.
But such topicality and responsiveness takes money, and stitch-in-time funding is not always available in bureaucracies. That?s where groups like the 1,500-member Friends of the Howard County Library come in.
“The group supports the library financially for things that aren?t in its budget,” said Louise Riemer, a former library official and now president of the nonprofit. “If something comes up, you often can?t do anything about it until the next budget year. So we are there to help support the library.”
Founded in 1997, Friends offers membership levels ranging from $25 to $500 a year. The proceeds to support ad hoc or needy library initiatives ? such as its program guide or its teen programs ? that otherwise might fail for lack of funding.
Currently, Friends supports about 20 library programs ? to the tune of about $57,000 ayear ? and hopes to increase its involvement in 2008.
Since its November membership drive, the group raised $50,000 in dues, Riemer said.
“We?re grateful to the Friends for their support,” said Christie Lessen, marketing and public relations director for the six-branch Howard County Library. “The fact that their membership has increased and that their fundraising has increased shows how much the community values the Friends of the Library and what we?re doing.”
Riemer, who is quick to note that the group doesn?t implement any of the programs, cited financial support for the library?s recent civility project and an American Medical Association exhibit on Mary Shelley?s “Frankenstein” as examples of how the nonprofit helps the library.
“The atmosphere at the library right now is ? really amazing,” Riemer said. “It was just a country library back in 1969, and now is a computer-savvy, nationally known library with diverse programs for young and old.”
“It?s an organization that I?m proud to be part of,” said Cindy Ardinger, vice president of Friends. “A lot of our conversation revolves around what?s going on in Howard County and how the library can reach out to the various groups and organizations.”
More information
» Friends of the Howard County Library
6600 Cradlerock Way
Columbia, MD 21045
410-313-7750; hclibrary.org
