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Grand Forks Public Friends announces “Library of Things” as 2023 Friends Focus
Volunteer organization joins forces with Grand Forks Public to celebrate offerings well beyond books
Grand Forks, ND – 2023 finds us living in an age when gadgets and gizmos are outdated before we recycle the packaging. At the same time, we’re being encouraged to simplify our lives, get organized, and only keep items that bring us joy. How can one save money and space AND still have access to needed items when they’re, in fact, needed? Grand Forks Public may be the answer – and Grand Forks Public Friends is here to help in 2023.
Grand Forks Public Friends has named “Library of Things” as its Friends Focus for 2023. Libraries across the country are beginning to circulate nontraditional items to assist patrons in spending less while experiencing more. Grand Forks Public already circulates wireless hot spots, laptops, Roku devices, video games, puzzles, state park passes, and memory kits. Plans are in the works for adding other exciting items this year.
The Friends have kickstarted their 2023 Focus by donating $1,500 to the library’s upcoming distribution program for needed personal care items in a former card catalog, now named the Care Catalog. Additionally, the Friends donated $1,000 to the Grand Forks Public Library Foundation on Giving Hearts Day to support the purchase of a library outreach van for Grand Forks County. The organization will also assist financially with other items for the “Library of Things” collection. However, while one of Merriam-Webster’s definitions of a thing is an object, other definitions include an event, deed, or notion. “What makes the ‘Library of Things’ Focus so great is that it allows us a range of possibilities for not only items, but events and programs this year as well,” said Friends President Debbie Sanders. “We’ll be continuing some of our past favorites such as the Mini Art Show and Six-Word Story contest, as well as introducing some fun new ‘things.’”
Grand Forks Public Friends board members and volunteers will work with library staff throughout the year to organize tangible and intangible opportunities for all ages. The library will post the events on Facebook and its website as they are planned.
The Friends board chooses a Friends Focus every year, to which it dedicates a portion of its fundraising dollars and volunteer hours. Last year’s Focus – Retuning You in 2022 – was a huge success with the ultra-popular Mini Art Show, Music & Mocktails program, and more. If you would like more information about Grand Forks Public Friends, please contact Debbie with the media information above.
About Grand Forks Public Friends
The Grand Forks Public Friends (formerly the Friends of the Grand Forks Public Library) are a group of community members that help to expand, enhance and promote the offerings of the library. The Friends raise funds that are used to supplement the library budget for programming, staff enrichment and other activities that engage people who value the library.
Grand Forks Public Friends Sponsor Early Literacy Kits
A new outreach program designed by Grand Forks Public library staff aims to bring library resources from the brick-and-mortar building out into the community, and the Grand Forks Public Friends are pitching in to make it happen.
As a part of the library’s daycare outreach program, the Friends have given $5,000 to help purchase several early literacy kits. The kits, which will travel with outreach team members to home daycares around the Grand Forks County service area, will include books, games, puppets, instruments and other resources. Daycare providers can check out the kits for a month and incorporate them into literacy routines.
“I would like to thank the Grand Forks Public Friends for not only believing in the vision, but investing in the children of Grand Forks County,” said Information Services Director Arnessa Dowell. “I am so thankful for the dedication and commitment of this organization to the community.”
The kits fit into the library’s daycare outreach program, in which the outreach team travels to home daycares on a monthly basis for a 30-minute story time with crafts and music.
“The Friends knew they wanted to be part of this project geared towards some of the library's youngest patrons,” said Friends President Debbie McLennan. “Many of the Friends board members list their early memories of the library as the reason they volunteer on the board today. We're thrilled to be able to help a whole new generation make those same memories.”
Each kit has a theme – colors, numbers, farm animals, seasons and many more – and library staff will deliver and pick up the kits at each daycare site. The kits will be available starting in June, and providers can get on the reservation list by sending a message to Information Services Associate Tori Lee at outreach@gflibrary.com.
Please reach out to Tori Lee to set up an appointment to come take a look at the kits. Thank you for helping to spread the word about this new offering for community daycare providers.
About Grand Forks Public Friends
The Grand Forks Public Friends (formerly the Friends of the Grand Forks Public Library) are a group of community members that help to expand, enhance and promote the offerings of the library. The Friends raise funds that are used to supplement the library budget for programming, staff enrichment and other activities that engage people who value the library.
Grand Forks Public Friends Bring Art Gallery to the Library
A new art installation hanging system is helping to truly turn Grand Forks Public into a “playground for curious minds.” The Grand Forks Public Friends-sponsored equipment, along with additional gallery display cases, will allow the library to feature the work of local artists on a rotating basis.
On Sunday, April 7, the library will host its first exhibit opening, with a 2 p.m. reception celebrating the work of Grand Forks mixed media artist Becca Cruger. The library has already been contacted by several local artists about future exhibit possibilities, promising no shortage of new work to display.
“We knew we wanted art on this wall – its place in the library lends itself so well to displaying art,” said Marketing Director Nicole Smestad. “As we rebranded and started looking at things through our new values, it was clear we had a perfect opportunity to showcase our community and the talents it holds.”
“We're excited because the library's art gallery is a non-imposing place for people to discover they're art lovers,” said Friends President Debbie McLennan. “All will be welcomed to see the world through another's creativity.”
The gallery will host new and emerging artists on a three-month rotation and can display both flat and 3D works. The flexibility of the space allows the library to host a single artist with many pieces or multiple artists at once.
The hanging system is just one piece of the Friends’ focus area for 2019 – Arts in the Library. The Friends pledged at least $1,500 at the beginning of the year to support library initiatives that showcase local artists and evoke imagination in all patrons.
Grand Forks Public Friends board members and volunteers will work with library staff throughout the year to organize arts-related opportunities for all ages, including painting nights, flower arranging, theater ticket giveaways and much more.
“The Friends are thrilled about how enthusiastically our Arts in the Library focus has been received this year,” McLennan said. “We have had waiting lists for the three classes we have put on so far with this initiative, and we expect the art gallery to be just as popular.”
About Grand Forks Public Friends
The Grand Forks Public Friends (formerly the Friends of the Grand Forks Public Library) are a group of community members that help to expand, enhance and promote the offerings of the library. The Friends raise funds that are used to supplement the library budget for programming, staff enrichment and other activities that engage people who value the library.