Library Friends Bring Entertainment, Crafts & Books in Support of the Library this Weekend

By Michel Sidwell

When you discover all that the Friends of the Library Fair has to offer this coming Saturday, combined with the food and entertainment, it’s hard to imagine who doesn’t benefit from the annual event. The 56th annual Library Fair seems to have something for just about everyone this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Donations in artwork have been generously provided for the auction. (You might be able to find a present for that in-law who has everything.) Volumes of books have been donated since the winter book sale. (Maybe your eye will catch a first edition book fondly remembered from
childhood.)

Perhaps you are itching to tap your feet and clap your hands? It’s all there. The entertainment during Library Fair, as organized by Leslie Seaman will be  9:30-10:30  Carl Burger & Mark Cohen,  11:00-12:00 Lezann & Roland, & Gene Nery, 12:00-12:45 Eth-No-Tec storytelling,  12:45-2:30 Ioni & Friends.

In addition to food, music and paperback treasures, there will be a variety of booths such as those located in the kids section which Tom Maiuro, booth coordinator, says “are always a pleasant surprise.”  The various booths give kids get a chance to sell their crafts, treats or art and earn some pocket money for spending on those warm, fading days of summer.

A new but local face in the booths will be San Juan Canvas which will be featuring a line of nautical flag bags. You’ll also find the usual faces too like Frank Loudin, Island Thyme and non-profits such as the Friends of San Juan Islands, Opal Community Land Trust and Kiwanis Club.

This event is also your last chance to buy a raffle ticket (or three) and increase your chances of taking home a quilt that has hung in the library for the past month.  The quilt is the creative handiwork of Linda Bryant.  Linda used her long-arm quilting machine, donating her time and skills. Friends paid for supplies.  The queen size quilt is a muted moss green with shades of blue red and brown.  She used a “strippy” pattern which provides a subtle vertical geometric pattern: it’s a piece of artwork itself.

The Friends of the Library coordinate this event and put in extraordinary time and effort to ensure it all runs smoothly.  There are months of sorting and preparing for the sale, but it’s an effort that has sustained itself since 1954.

The Library Fair is a significant fundraiser for the Friends, who provide funding to the library by way of an annual grant.  Up to 75% of the funds raised Saturday will be given to the library. Sometimes special additional requests are considered, such as the new Sunday hours that were first sustained by a private donation. The Friends are helping to continue these hours by sponsoring Sundays until the end of the year.
Just recently the new Browser Pak cd storage system was purchased through Friends.  The new system saves space in the library and makes it much more user friendly. Five browser pak cds may be stored in the same space as one jewelbox cd. Patrons can flip through the various titles and more easily find the artist they are looking to hear.  It was an expense outside this year’s budget that was really a necessity for library staff and patrons. Volunteers have been working months to convert from the jewel packages to these new browser paks.

The Friends also fund programming and special activities outside normal library operations such as the summer reading program, visiting authors, the kids book club.  For more Friends of the Library information or to volunteer contact: Pierrette Guimond at 367-4264. To volunteer in our library contact Kathy Lunde at 376-4985.

The library fair is a great long standing event for the community, the library and the environment, a family friendly event with food, music, local art, crafts and wares to benefit our library. There’s something for everyone… well, everyone except those who miss it.