Friends of the Emporia Public Library

Goal: $20,000.00

Specific Need

2024 - Refreshing the Children's Area with child appropriate shelving and chairs. This assistance and support would allow the library to purchase child friendly appropriately sized shelving in the Picture Book area, and to obtain children's chairs that are appealing to them and are appropriate to their physical sizes. In 2023 there were 523 children's programs with an attendance of 12,465 children.

Mission

The mission of the Friends of the Emporia Public Library is to provide support for the Emporia Public Library, help the library achieve its mission, and be an advocate for the library within the community.

Profile

The Friends of the Library (FOL) believe in the worth of an effective and attractive library.  Its members pay a small membership fee and many serve in a volunteer capacity on the Friends Board, on committees, and in various roles for the FOL book sales.  FOL advocate for literacy and education by providing funding for the library’s programs and materials.

The Friends raise money through used book sales, donations, and FOL membership dues.  The library benefits in many ways thanks to the efforts of the Friends who give thousands of dollars to the library each year for programs. Some members volunteer to assist with library programs for area seniors, adults, teens, and children throughout the year. The FOL is a 501(c)3 charitable organization and can receive tax deductible donations of any acceptable type. 

The Friends are especially proud of supporting the library with funds for:

• Summer Reading Programs for All Ages
• Summer Kids’ Koncerts Series
• Library Newsletter
• Promotional Items & Refreshments for Library Programs
• Past Annual Volunteer Luncheons for the Board, Friends & Library Volunteers
• BookPage Book Review Publication
• Multiple Copy Book Discussions Sets
• Staff Development Activities
• Large Screen TV for the Children's Storytime Room
• Accu-cut Dies for Bulletin Boards
• Patron Book Baskets
• Children’s Room Furniture
• Annual Donation to the Emporia Public Library Endowment
• Previous Match Day Funding 

2019 - In the past the Friends helped fund the purchase of the outreach van that is seen around the city.

2020 - The Friends helped fund a digital sign in front of the library for allowing the public to see upcoming events at the library.

2021 - We fully funded a ‘Charlie Cart’ which is a food cart to help promote learning related to food preparation and cooking.

2022 - Library patrons can use the Peter Pan Park book lockers for receiving and returning books without physically visiting the library.

2023 - The Friends helped fund a shade awning for the library van.

The photos below show the current 2024 children's area.

[1] Alphabetical boxes are heavy to move for young children and do not show the books inside. New shelving would allow the front covers of books to be seen at a glance.

[2] The children's area does not resemble a child friendly and inviting environment. Various child size chairs with designs, such as animals, will be purchased to replace the current chairs.

[3] The children's book cases and other equipment are inappropriately too large and/or too high for young children. The equipment will be replaced with appropriate equipment.

[4] The walls will be refurbished to provide wonder, curiosity, and discovery.