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FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY

The Friends of the Library are dedicated to supporting the Public Library. The Friends donate funds to the Library to purchase such items as new books, videos and equipment. Money is raised through membership and book sales, and proceeds go to the Library.

Book Sales

Upcoming book sales are TBA sponsored by the Friends. 

There are also book sale racks in the Public Library where you can purchase books in between the warehouse sales. The inventory of books is constantly updated through donations and weeding from the Library collection. With Silver City's eclectic mix of residents, the selection is always interesting.

If you have books you would like to donate, they can be dropped off at the Library.

Membership

Everyone is invited to join! Membership applications can be picked up at the Circulation Desk in the Library. An individual membership is $10.00 and a family membership is $15.00.

No time commitment is required for membership, but if you would like to become more involved, you can help with the book sales and other activities.

Monthly meetings are the third Thursday of every month at 4pm at the Public Library.

Please support the Friends of the Library in their support of Your Library. For more information contact the Public Library at 575-538-3672.

515 W. College Avenue
Silver City, NM 88061
(575) 538-3672

We are closing the fiscal year in June with one of the most successful years ever for the Friends. Due to a hardworking, dedicated team we raised more money for the Library than ever before. We have given the Library over $9,000 for Youth books, Children’s books, Summer Reading Program, bookracks, etc. We could not have done this without your support.  
Thanks to Ted Lynn, we started the year with Arlene Dohr of the Friends of the Branigan Library sharing her insights on how to raise more money through booksales and other means. Joe Becker, Margaret Hadderman and Maggie Sweeti, our booksale committee, were so inspired by her presentation that they decided to add a third booksale. They also started individual pricing of the better books. This resulted in $5,699 raised so far with one more sale to go compared to last year’s total of $3,404. In addition, Margaret Hadderman wrote to 90 Book publishers and received over $11,000 in donated books, most of which ended up on the shelves of the Library. This year we invited the Friends of the Miller Library to participate in our booksales, which they have done.

 The Library’s budget was cut along with other departments because of decreased revenues. The Friends wrote to the Silver City Town Council requesting $5,000 be added back to the Library’s budget. Thanks to the support of Peter Russell, the Town Council did this and has added this same amount to this coming year’s budget.

This spring we were saddened by the loss of John Dubay. He had been an asset to our organization and he will be deeply missed. He always brought a sense of humor to our meetings and was a willing and cheerful volunteer. In his memory, friends and family donated money to the Friends. Separately, the Friends are purchasing a Civil War book as a memoriam.

Because of the efforts of the Friends and the Library Board, there is money for new videos and tapes. If you have been hesitant to request new items, this would be a good time to do so. I know I always look forward to listening to audio books on my vacation travels and it would be nice to see some new ones.

We are bidding farewell to Joe Becker as he leaves the board this year. He has done an outstanding job and now has a position as a librarian at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. He has worked long and hard for the Friends. We wish him the best of luck and thank him for all his efforts. Mary Alice Murphy and Margaret Hadderman prepared some limericks in his honor.

 Our Annual Meeting will be held Thursday, June 21st at 4:00 p.m. at the Library. All members are invited to attend and vote for the new board members. We have board and alternate board positions available and any member of the Friends is eligible to be nominated and elected.

 Thank you all for your continuing help and support of the Library and the Friends.

Fred Barraza of the Bookmobile, Caroline Baldwin of Literacy Link, Ted Lynn of the Library Board and Foundation and Frost McGahey of the Friends joined forces to try to extract funding for library services from the Grant County Commissioners. They presented their arguments to the commissioners on April 24^th.

 Fred was able to obtain the help of State Senator Benny Altamirano who spoke in support of our efforts. Ted did an excellent job as our principal speaker and got State Representatives Manny Herrera and Diane Hamilton to voice their support of our cause.

Thanks to the efforts of Caroline, there were over fifty people carrying books to show their support. The County claimed there was no money because of the decline in copper revenues from Phelps Dodge. However, Frost pointed out at the end that property assessments had increased 5% and there should be some money available from that.

 The group had requested $54,000 for the Library and Literacy Link, $4,000 for the Bookmobile and $2,000 for the Bayard Public Library. We should know at the end of May if we are successful. Please contact your County Commissioner and ask them to support this funding.

 Thanks to the many people who helped our effort and to all of those who showed up at the County meeting. Without this show of support, we would not have had a chance.

Joe Becker, co-chair of the Friends Book Sale Committee, has taken his new Master of Library Science degree off to Las Cruces! On May 1st, he began his new job as collection development librarian at NMSU Library. We know he got a lot of practical work experience building shelves, choosing "best" historical romances, and pricing "notable nonfiction" at the FOL book warehouse.

The Friends gave him a royal send-off at the April 19th meeting, complete with brownies, pop, and silly limericks, compliments of Mary Alice Murphy and Margaret Hadderman. A few samples: 

"There once was a craftsman named Joe; From his workshop fine cab'nets would flow; Now he's heeded the clarion, And become a librarian, To Cruces he'll happily go!" (MH)

"There once was a fellow named Becker, Who oft acted like a woodpecker; Cabinets he built, They fit to the hilt. In the warehouse, he was a shelf wrecker." (MAM)

"Joe's tackled unwieldy collections; The warehouse has quite a selection; Surviving the crisis Of boosting book prices, He drove sales in an upward direction!"  (MH)

 "There once was a fellow named Joe, Who lived up in Pino Alto; He loved evr'ry book, Gave each one a look; A library's where he should go." (MAM)

"Fore leavin' us for the big city, Joe showed us the true nitty gritty; Our cadres of elves, Will restock the shelves, And schlep cartons of gifts with felicity!" (MH)

And so it went. For the foreseeable future, Joe will be a part-time commuter, living in Pinos Altos on weekends. We all wish him good luck and are glad we do not have to bid him a final farewell. (Besides, we could use help schlepping those heavy boxes our poetry made light of, Joe.)

Margaret Hadderman has joined Maggi Sweeti as co-chair, and we are busily organizing the warehouse for the May 19th sale (see article below). We have some great helpers, such as Sharon Morgan, Carol Morrison, Maggie and John Anderson, Anita Daniels, and Kathleen Jackson, and could use several more to organize, price and/or help out the day of the sale. We could also use more donations of books (please no old encyclopedias, as they don't sell, can't be given away, and we don't want to dump them).

If you would like to help, please call Margaret H at 534-9658 or contact her by e-mail: mhadderman@zianet.com 

Maggi Sweeti has just put together a striking, iridescent green flyer proclaiming spectacular price reductions for many intriguing book categories at the Warehouse, 1510 Market Street. She is telling the truth!! The Book Committee has decided it is time to bid a fond farewell to some old-time favorites and make room for new ones. We thank everyone, including local donors and some fine out-of-state publishers for adding to our stock of salable treasures.

Assisted by a bunch of hard-working volunteers, Maggie has been methodically organizing the nonfiction donations, including business, science and nature, psychology, cookbooks, and hobbies, keeping only the best titles in good condition for your perusal. Among these: a stellar Time-Life series called Natural Ways to Health, with individual volumes on Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, homeopathy, nutritional healing; some Tightwad Gazette and simple-living guidebooks, parenting and home-schooling guides, several fine gardening and fix-it books, and many psychology, and self-help classics. We are also trying to establish solid, appealing southwestern and women’s and men’s studies sections. Most (unmarked) hardbacks and quality/trade paperbacks go for $1.00; some are priced slightly higher.

**The big news #1: during this Spring Cleaning Sale only, all the smaller (unmarked) pocketbooks on all subjects will be $.25 apiece or 6 for $1.00**

Margaret Hadderman has been busily reorganizing the fiction and literary classics collections, aided by several avid alphabetizers and pricers. We have added a couple of new fiction categories (historical and seafaring novels) and retained sizeable collections of general fiction, mysteries/thrillers, westerns, war novels, romance, science fiction, and 19^th/early 20^th century classics—all shelved in separate sections by author. Most hardbacks (unmarked) are going for the usual FOL low price of $1.00, with a few recent best sellers and notable offerings priced from $2 to $5. We are now asking $1.00 for (unmarked) quality/trade paperback fiction titles, although many are marked only $.50 for quick sales.

**The big news #2: during the Spring Cleaning Sale only, the vast majority of (unmarked) pocketbooks in all fiction categories (regularly selling for the bargain price of $.50) will be going for $.25 apiece or 6 for $1.00. Many paperback editions of poetry, plays, and essays are similarly priced. The few fiction pocketbooks selling at the regular price will be marked with a small red or orange dot.

Also, selected hardback fiction volumes will also be going for a quarter/six for $1.00!! These will be marked accordingly. Those interested in some widely read authors that flourished in early to mid-1990s, A.J. Cronin, Frank Slaughter, Thomas Marquand, Louis Auchincloss, Herman Wouk, Anton Myer, Leon Uris, to name a few, will find some six for a dollar-type bargains on the shelves and in flats outside in the parking lot. Cheapie books by mystery writers of the early 20^th century, Del Shannon, Lesley Egan, Philip MacDonald and many others, will also be available.

Numerous classics, including several on Random’s House 100 best books of the century list, will be in this super Spring-cleaning sale category. Examples are works by James Joyce, William Faulkner, Henry James, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John O’Hara, Vladimir Nabokov, Muriel Spark, John Fowles, Samuel Butler, Robert Graves, Elizabeth Bowen, and even Erskine Caldwell. Historical romance writers from Thomas Costain and Daphne Du Maurier to Frank Yerby are mostly in the quarter to $.50 price range.

Our general and specially priced contemporary fiction shelves are graced by four novels in Jan Karon’s Mitford series, two copies of Nicholas Evans’s The Loop, Oprah Book Club selections, recent international fiction, and works by Toni Morrison, Anne Tyler, Doris Lessing, Jane Smiley, Isabel Allende, Ursula Hegi, and many others.

Most science fiction novels are $.25 to $.50 cents!! Same for paperback mysteries thrillers, from Joan Aiken to Stuart Woods.Children’s books of all shapes, sizes, and subjects and for all ages are priced at $.25.

If this pricing scheme seems a bit confusing, do not worry—we will post a summary at the sale!

Come early to get the best selection. Check your status at the membership table! Donations before the sale would be greatly appreciated, and may be brought to the Library (at 515 College Ave.) during opening hours. If you forget or are too busy, bring them to the warehouse on May 19^th. The Public Library has only a marginal book and magazine budget next year, and needs your wholehearted support. Here is a chance to build your personal collection while enhancing everyone’s reading and information gathering opportunities!

The Public Library is getting ready for the summer. The annual summer reading program is scheduled for June 4 - July 14, 2001 with the theme, "Once Upon A Planet/Una Vez Habia Un Planeta." As in the previous year, children will be able to choose between counting books or counting time for prizes. Children may read material from home. There will be no "book reports" to give. The Library policy regarding unattended children remains the same: "Children under the age of 5 require parental supervision at all times." "Parents are encouraged to remain with their children during the activities," says Children's Librarian, Sylvia Holmes.

"We've simplified the prizes so that each child reading the same amount of books/time will be receiving the same prize." The children will be keeping track of their own progress on reading logs that they will receive at registration. "Our purpose for presenting the Summer Reading Program is to help children maintain and improve their reading during the summer. We encourage the children to read at or above their reading level", says Mrs. Holmes. Intrepid readers who go the distance by reading 270 books or 54 hours will be entered in the grand prize drawing for a Next Whomp bike.

Activities and entertainment are offered as part of the program. These include a magic show with magician Jamie O'Hara, state storyteller Joy Ginther, an outer space costume contest, and a visit from Earl Montoya, from NASA. Crafts to be made include super foam mobiles, hand print poems for Father's Day, silly serpents, time capsules, planet mobiles, and animal face calendars. Story Time is offered on Mondays for children up to age 7 and on Wednesdays for children ages 7-11. Please call 538-3672 for dates and time. "We encourage daycare centers or other groups to call for a reservation if they would like to bring in their groups on craft days" says Holmes.

With all this planned, the staff would like to ask for volunteers to help out with the game room which is something new this year. Children will be able to play board games in the meeting room during the week from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Volunteers are needed to help the children with the games and to supervise the room. If anyone is interested, please contact Sylvia Holmes @ 538-3672.

Last but certainly not least, the Summer Lunch Program, sponsored by the Silver Schools, is once again offered on the front lawn of the Library. Lunches will be served M-F 11:30 - 12:30 p.m. beginning June 4, 2001.

Margaret Hadderman Book Sales, CoChair
Kathleen Jackson
Janet Lueken Treasurer,
Frost McGahey President
Sharon Morgan Vice President
Mary Alice Murphy Acting Secretary,

Membership& Publicity

Holley Randall Ex-officio
Ellen Rosell Newsletter
Maggie Sweeti Book Sales, Co Chair
Bonnie Taylor Librarian,
Leslie Peck Homebound Chair

Literacy Link-Leamos continues to expand services.

Literacy Link-Leamos, the literacy program affiliated with The Public Library, now has 46 students and 38 active tutors with more tutors awaiting students.  If you want help with basic English or math or can volunteer to tutor, leave a message for Caroline Baldwin at The Public Library, 538-3672.

Literacy Link-Leamos has formed a board of directors and the board conducted its second official meeting on May 2nd.  At the meeting, officers were elected, committee members and chairpersons were assigned, and a part-time independent contractor was hired to administer the program. Among other recent activities, volunteers presented a budget request to the County Commissioners at a special pre-budget hearing on April 24th, literacy program speakers made a presentation to Rotary Club members at their May 1st meeting, and a grant for funding from the town of Silver City was submitted.

On May 9, David Gotsted of the New Mexico Coalition for Literacy will be visiting Silver City to meet with volunteers, see the facilities, discuss operations, and share information.

Literacy Link-Leamos will have an informal workshop on May 14 from 10-11:30am in the large meeting room at The Public Library for all interested in the literacy program.  Following a "show and tell" of literacy materials, Harry Pearson, the Literacy Services Coordinator of the
Literacy Volunteers of America, the Dona Ana County program in Las Cruces, will speak about "secrets of success" for his program and particularly about recruiting and retaining students.  Do come and learn about the literacy programs

As a continuing service, Literacy Link-Leamos offers a Learning Lab on Mondays from 4:00 to 6:00 at The Public Library for anyone needing help with reading or math.

Literacy Link-Leamos is a volunteer organization of The Public Library and
is partially funded and sponsored by the New Mexico Coalition for Literacy.

Thursday, May 17, 2001
4:00 p.m.
Silver City Library

Saturday, May 19, 2001
Silver City Library
8:00- 9:00 a.m. FOL members only
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. general public.

Price Reductions Galore!

Thursday, June 21, 2001
4:00 p.m.
Silver City Library

If you are interested in serving as a Board Member, please contact one of the members of the nominating committee. They are Frost McGahey and Mary Alice Murphy. New board members are elected at the Annual Meeting. Board Officers are selected from the board members at the Friends Board Meeting.