If you’re old enough, you’ll remember the good ol’ days when library advocacy was not a part of the librarian’s lexicon. There was a good reason for that: the typical library got a typical 4 percent or so increase every year to cover the typical rise in the cost of doing business. Back before the dawn of the digital era, libraries generally delivered a straightforward service; they bought, shelved, and circulated books and journals. They used their in-house resources to provide reference and information services and to provide services for youth. Oh, it’s true, libraries diversified in the 1950s with filmstrips and again in the 1960s with phonographs, but basically, libraries both public and academic offered a single service operation. Easy peasy!
Then, everything changed. It all started with automated catalogs and circulation systems. There were both funders and patrons who lamented the loss of card catalogs and the ability to see from circulation cards who checked out books before them (never mind the invasion of privacy). Efficiency won out, however, and money was made available to make the move toward 21st century automation.
At about the same time, in the late 1980s and 1990s, libraries began taking steps to capture emerging digital resources to bring their promise for nearly unlimited access to information to their communities. The Internet was clunky and mostly meant for academic purposes, but with acoustic couplers, it could be made available in public libraries as well. These were exciting times! Libraries were on the forefront of this new era, and many of us thought that this would give us amazing credibility with our funders. They would see us as the entrepreneurs that we truly were and fund libraries as the premier providers of online resources to the public. Boy, were we wrong!
In the public library world, funders initially told us to stick with books; academic libraries were luckier. In both cases, however, our world of information delivery was changed forever. Talk about diversification! Now libraries had many ways to deliver information and literature, and formats were (and are) constantly changing. Books do remain a stalwart, but we now have online information delivery as well. Some libraries continue to provide books on CD and movies on DVD, and who knows what’s next. As diversified as format and content are, for a lot of libraries funding remains unresponsive to the costs of delivering widely diverse and constantly changing services that are in demand in the community and on campus. Enter a significant growth in fundraising for libraries, and that often means “friends” or foundations (more on that in chapter 3).
Via stand-alone databases as well as indexes and other information resources on floppy disk, academic libraries embraced technology well in advance of most but the largest public libraries. Because of the scholarly nature of academic libraries, it was easy to make the case to support the continuously changing technological environment. As networks evolved, however, the academic library as a “place” was occasionally questioned as access to digital resources could be achieved in dorm rooms, in the student union, in the cafeteria, and even across the globe.
As libraries progressed further into the digital age (thus, again, diversifying and increasing the costs of doing business significantly), public library funders looked around and decided that, as the Internet became ubiquitous, libraries had been rendered obsolete. After all, they told us, you can get anything on the Internet. Enter the age of advocacy. We had to help “educate” our funders about the fact that everything is not available on the Internet—at least not without a cost. And, hey, books are still circulating at a high rate.
Public library supporters had to reiterate the concern about the digital divide. Though this divide has become narrower, it has also become much, much deeper. There are those who do not have access to the Internet at home. Mostly, these are people living in or near poverty and who have the most to gain from access. Immediately, job search information that is almost entirely online comes to mind, but that’s just one hurdle. Government information at national, state, and local levels is increasingly available only online. Those seeking information about health care services, social services, and food support services are at a decided disadvantage in getting access to the information that will help them and their families. Libraries are often the only point of Internet access for the “have-nots.”
We continue to educate our funders that as we embrace all that technology has to offer, all types of libraries have become busier than ever before. It became important to let many of our funders know that even if they believe libraries are no longer essential, the community at large and the student body have been voting with their feet. Librarians have captured technology in its many forms and have turned their libraries into vibrant community and academic centers for learning of all types.
So, if your library doesn’t have a “Friends of the Library” group (also known simply as “Friends”), here are some good reasons why it should.
The most obvious is for the fundraising. Friends—the good groups—raise money on a continual basis throughout the year and turn all that money right over to the library to help fill in the gaps that its annual budget doesn’t cover.
But there is more that your group can do. A good Friends group can help you engage your community—academic or public. They can help you provide programming that helps your community understand the importance of the library on a daily basis. They can help your library reach out to underserved communities to let them know the library is there for them. And, importantly, they can let your funders know that the library is essential to the community and needs to be fully funded. Libraries across the country have seen their budgets increased or their cuts reversed because of the mighty efforts of their Friends groups (see chapter 4). You need Friends!
When it comes to starting a Friends group, as the saying goes, it’s not rocket science! But, it does take some time from someone at the top. The library director or his or her designees, along with a trustee and an interested patron or two, are the best people to be in charge of getting this started.
Creating a Friends group will take some time, energy, and expertise. It’s a good idea to do it right the first time rather than rush into it, make costly mistakes, and spend months or years to come trying to convince those who may have been turned off by a haphazard approach to join the Friends group once you do have your house in order.
Here are some of the issues that will have to be addressed as you start a new Friends group:
Addressing this list of objectives might seem daunting, but it constitutes important structural elements for a successful Friends groups. Taken one at a time, each of these components is readily achievable, and addressing each of them will ensure that your new group gets off on the right foot.
A new Friends group will be established by a core group of library supporters who may well become the group’s first leadership team. Because there is a good deal of up-front work to do before a membership campaign is kicked off, it makes sense that the work is shared among a small but hard-working group with a real desire to see success.
If you are a library administrator wanting to start a Friends group for your library, you would be wise to turn to those in your community or on campus who are known for their support of your library and for their ability to get things done. If you are a library patron or supporter who realizes that a Friends group can help the library increase and/or improve its services, let the library administrator know and ask him or her to join you (or a library staff liaison) in developing such a group.
Set up a meeting including five to ten supporters who are willing and able to bring a group to life. Go over the aforementioned list of objectives and begin to brainstorm how and who will accomplish them. Some of the objectives can be done simultaneously, and some will have to be done sequentially. For example, it’s obvious that the core group will have to be established before a broad-based recruitment campaign begins. The list of objectives has been ordered in a relatively sequential way, and it might be best to tackle each in the order presented. For example, you won’t be able to quality for 501(c)(3) status until you have first identified your organization’s structure and developed your bylaws.
The most common way a new and somewhat taxing initiative fails is from lack of sustained momentum. That’s why it’s important to involve those people who you know will commit for the long term as members of the core committee. It’s also important to schedule biweekly or monthly meetings until your core group is ready to launch its first membership campaign. What you are attempting to do is important; remember that and remind your group of that, so their level of commitment stays high.
What? Do we really need to get it in writing? After all, the Friends and the library both have the same ultimate goal in mind—improving and enhancing the library’s service. While it’s true that you both are undoubtedly focused on the same goal, how that goal is best accomplished can be and often is the road to ruin for many Friends and libraries. The Friends, for example, might see early childhood learning as the most important public library service—and the library itself might even agree! However, that case may have been well made to the city administration and well funded, whereas the library’s program budget may be non-existent and the library may be desperate to create programs for teenagers. Where will the Friends’ money go? Should it go to picture books or teen programs? Who decides?
The academic library may be in serious need of a marketing campaign to raise its profile and cache on campus, but the Friends may have been most successful and most interested in raising money for new computers. Should the Friends continue down their traditional path that has been so successful or should they channel their resources into a new, professional marketing campaign? Again, who decides?
Nothing has doomed the relationship between Friends and the library more than misunderstandings about how the money and the time of the Friends group will be spent. Of course, the best working arrangement is to ensure that both the Friends and the library continue to keep one another in the loop. A member of the Friends’ leadership team should always attend trustee or library governance meetings to keep this group up to date on the work of the Friends. Paradoxically, in public libraries, it is not recommended that a trustee be assigned to attend the Friends’ meetings. Because the money raised is used for operational expenses, a trustee on the Friends board can get involved in decision-making that should be done at the management level, not the governance level.
Nothing will get the Friends and the library on the same page better than working together to design a plan of where the library is heading every year. What are the challenges ahead? What kinds of opportunities are out there that the Friends can help with? When this happens at the beginning of every fiscal year, the Friends’ goals will be in alignment with those of the library, greatly reducing any conflicts about how resources will be employed.
To ensure that Friends and the library have a solid foundation for all future funding and advocacy initiatives, it’s a good idea to work out how decisions regarding the Friends’ efforts will be made and who will make them. The best (and most typical) practice is when the Friends provide funding for items on the library director’s wish list. The ideal agreement will involve a spirit of mutual input into the final decision. In the end, the library administration has, by policy and position, the ultimate authority to accept or reject any gift to the library.
The goal in an operating agreement should be that all Friends’ gifts (of money, time, or talent) meet exactly the highest needs of the library. Considerations for the operating agreement should include answers to the following:
Establishing a mission and articulating the purpose of your Friends group are excellent ways to focus your group on the roles you feel are most important, and they will help you develop a useful structure. In addition, knowing and articulating your key mission will help you recruit the people with the talents you need most to serve on committees, task forces, and in leadership roles. The purpose of your group will depend on the group’s interests and the library’s needs. If you are forming a Friends group for the first time, it is likely that there is some imminent need that you wish to address right away. This should be reflected in your mission, but the mission should not be so narrowly defined that once an immediate need is met, the mission of the Friends isn’t as relevant to meeting future needs as it should be.
If you are establishing a Friends group because the library has been chronically under-funded to such a degree that services are inadequate and you want to form a group to pass a special tax levy or create an advocacy campaign aimed at the community or college administration, the role of advocates should be included in the mission. However, this role is best articulated generally, and there should be room for other enterprises. In other words, the group’s mission might be to work to ensure adequate funds for the library through advocacy, fundraising, and promotion. Once you’ve been successful in achieving your initial objective (you’ve passed the levy or the administration has increased the library’s budget), your group is now positioned to continue its good work in other ways—such as establishing a foundation, raising additional money for collections, or supporting a library marketing campaign. In general, most Friends groups work to achieve the following objectives:
The way in which any of these or other objectives are achieved will be determined by the group at large, along with input from the library’s administration and governance. The most effective way to accomplish such goals is to set up a structure within the Friends organization so that focused work can be accomplished. Committees and/or task forces will be important for the smooth operation of the Friends group, and the successful achievement of its objectives include (but certainly aren’t limited to):
The charges for these committees and task forces will mostly be self-evident, but some might have charges that are a reflection of the library’s needs. For example, the Development Task Force may want to work on establishing a fundraising campaign, a library foundation, or investigate further ways for the Friends to generate income. (Book sales are common ways to do this, but Friends groups across the country have been extremely creative in finding other ways.)
The leadership team will mostly oversee and support, as the work is assigned to a task force or is done by the library. It’s entirely conceivable, for example, that the library staff will publish the newsletter under the Friends’ name while the Friends contribute the funds and some of the content. The same is true for “Library Promotions and Advocacy.” It may be that the trustees have this as their primary role, and the Friends’ job will be to support their initiatives with resources, such as personnel and funds.
Before you go “live” with a membership drive, it’s important to establish your Friends as a 501(c)(3) organization if this group is to work for a public library. If you are forming a group for an academic environment, you might be able to organize under the development office’s status. For academics, it is not only wise but also imperative that your development office is on board with your plan to form a Friends group.
The 501(c)(3) status means that your organization is nonprofit and, therefore, tax exempt—which means your group can accept tax-deductible contributions. It’s not that difficult to get this status, but in order to ensure that you cover your legal bases (on both the state and federal levels), it is best to hire an attorney, prevail upon your institution’s attorney, or see if you can find an attorney within your library “family” and try to get pro bono assistance.
There will be some restrictions with the 501(c)(3) status such as a limit on advocacy. This doesn’t mean you can’t engage in capital campaigns or public awareness campaigns, but it does mean that you will be restricted as to how much of your group’s income can be spent on “lobbying” (see appendix B). Much of what the Friends do in promoting the library, however, is “educational”—i.e., informing the community or administration about the value of libraries. Very often, an advocacy campaign will include much that is simply “educational” in nature; funds spent in this manner are completely legitimate.
One criterion that will be required for your 501(c)(3) status is that your organization has established bylaws. These bylaws should include:
Be sure to check the requirements for your 501(c)(3) status before adopting your bylaws, as the IRS requires that certain items be included. To get an excellent overview of what will be required to establish your Friends as a nonprofit organization, go to www.nolo.com, and in the search window at the bottom of the lower left-hand side of the first web page, type in “nonprofit organizations.” Next, click on “How to form a nonprofit organization.” In addition to this excellent overview online, Nolo Press has a number of publications addressing the legal requirements for nonprofits.
Once you’ve completed all the groundwork involved in establishing a Friends group, it will be time to “grow” your group. Initially, you have probably worked with a fairly small core group of committed volunteers, but to ensure that your group is successful over the long haul, you’ll want to include as many members of the library community and others who have a stake in the library’s success as possible. You’ll have to determine a number of things to wage an effective membership campaign. Among them will be:
Before you start your membership campaign, you will have to figure out what you want your membership dues to be and what members will get in return—in other words, the “deliverables.” This information will be incorporated into brochures and other membership promotional materials and dispersed via social media. What you ask for in dues and what you return as deliverables could well depend on the priorities of your organization. For example, if this Friends group is being developed to establish a strong and united voice to employ on behalf of the library’s budget, you might want to start dues at $5. This way, everyone who wants to join can afford to do so, and you will get a lot more names in your database. If you offer several levels of membership, you will probably find that the vast majority of people join at the higher level, but again, you’ve ensured that all voices can be counted.
Obviously, if raising money is your goal, you might well want to start memberships at a much higher rate—say $35—and graduate the levels up to as much as $200 a year, if you think that is attainable. One effective way to persuade folks to join at higher levels is to graduate the benefits they will receive accordingly. For example, you might want to offer just receipt of the newsletter at the bottom level of membership, “First Night” tickets for the annual book sale for higher-level givers, and perhaps an invitation to an annual author event or formal dinner at the highest level.
Only you know what you are trying to accomplish, and only you can determine at what levels you are likely to strike a balance between ensuring broad-based participation and bringing in a fair amount of revenue—certainly at least enough revenue to cover the cost of membership benefits (including the newsletter).
In addition to annual membership dues, you might want to consider a “lifetime” membership, or in the case of a new group, a “founding” membership. This will help in two ways. First, the category option itself might inspire a potential member to make a significant gift towards your effort—more (start-up) money for your group. Second, you will know from the response you get to this option which members have both the wherewithal and the love of your cause to make a major gift. This is valuable information. Be sure to consider cultivating such members for future slots on your executive committee and for a role with the foundation, if your library has one or if your Friends group plans to establish one. Two tips on lifetime membership. First, be sure to make the cost for this category significant—$500 may sound like a lot of money today but it may become a paltry sum in ten years. Second, don’t hesitate to send lifetime members a donor letter each year when you go out to other members for renewals—remember, high-level givers are letting you know that they have discretionary funds and that they like the library!
You’ve done all your homework. You have an active and committed leadership team. You have established your mission and have worked with the library staff and trustees to develop an operating agreement. You are now a 501(c)(3) organization, or you are connected to your academic development office. You know how you want to structure the group, and you have determined what you will charge for membership. The time has come to bring on as many community members as possible. The membership campaign begins.
The most effective way to get members on board is to promote, promote, promote. Develop a brochure that is distributed at the front desk of the library and all its branches. Employ social media, and use every avenue available. Ensure that members can join online, and ensure that all promotions share how important membership contributions are to the library and, in a general way, how the money will be spent. If your group is typical, most new members will simply show their support by writing a check and want nothing more than to receive a monthly newsletter. If you include a check-off box for those who are willing to volunteer, many will see this as an opportunity for community engagement and will be delighted to become more actively involved. Those that do become actively engaged will evolve into a larger core group of Friends, from whom you will get most of your volunteer support and future officers. It’s important to keep these more active new members engaged and nurtured.
Be sure you let your prospective members know what they will get for their membership. They will get a better library for one thing, and you should press that point home. Most people will welcome the opportunity to provide additional support to the library via the Friends and will want nothing more. Others will want the opportunity to be involved via committee assignment and ultimately a chance to be an officer. Many will look forward to a newsletter once a month to let them know what’s new. Still others will be attracted to knowing ahead of time about library book sales and having an opportunity to attend a “sneak preview night.” All of these are the “deliverables” that your core group has determined prior to the membership launch.
Work with the library staff to encourage them to give the brochure out to every patron at the checkout desk. If you are supporting an academic Friends group, work with your development office to see if there is a list of parents or alumni you can use to solicit membership from those who have a stake in the library, even if they aren’t students. Be sure, as well, to solicit both membership and involvement among the faculty.
Think of places outside the library where you are likely to attract new members with your brochure. How about doctors’ offices, grocery stores, the student center and cafeteria, or local bookstores? The brochure that you develop may be very simple and inexpensive at first. As time goes by and your membership grows, you might decide to make your promotional materials more polished with a Friends logo and a professionally designed layout. For now, however, the important thing is to get the opportunity for joining to as many outlets as possible.
Another good way to promote membership is to write a press release about the importance of library support through Friends. Make the press release compelling enough that it is likely to be published. Send it out through your social media avenues and to the local or campus paper. For example, start out with a proclamation that the new “Friends of Johnson Library” are embarking on a community- or campus-wide membership campaign. Let the readers know why. What prompted you to start a Friends group in the first place? Was it a need for a better budget, a new building, more books and programs? Whatever caused your core group to establish a Friends group should be reiterated along with a strong pitch for the reason why it is so important. Be sure to include contact information, the range of dues members are asked to pay, and the opportunities members will have to become engaged in the organization.
Many Friends groups increase their membership ranks by hosting programs that will attract members of their community. An author program, for example, will no doubt be popular. Think about asking a local author to do a program on how to get published. If you provide the author with an opportunity to sell books and you promise lots of promotion about the program, you are likely to get a local writer to do it for free. Use this program (and all public programs your group sponsors) as an opportunity to promote membership in the Friends. Be sure you have a lot of brochures and encourage folks to join on the spot.
Be sure that everyone involved in the core group assists in extending your reach to members by promoting your Friends group at every opportunity. The members of your core group are likely involved in other civic or social organizations as are the trustees. Be sure they are asked to take a quantity of membership brochures to meetings of these groups. You can help motivate this core group by setting a challenge. Ask that each member of the executive board bring in a minimum of ten new members. After a defined length of time, honor that executive member who has brought in the most new members by taking her or him to lunch—the rest of you have to pay!
Let your imaginations go in deciding how you will encourage members in your new Friends group. With some ingenuity and a little work, you’ll be surprised how many people in your community or on campus are willing to support the library through the Friends.
In addition to using some ideas from the guide to starting a public library Friends group, what follows is a guide written for academic Friends by Dr. Charles D. Hanson, Director of the Kettering University Library, used with permission.
What are Friends of the Library and what purpose do they serve in an academic library? What distinguishes a library Friends organization from other organizations on campus? I define Friends of the Library as an organization established to promote and financially support the resources, services, and needs of the academic library and to serve as advocates for the value of the library.
Library Friends have long played a vital role as a financial support group for public libraries. As academic libraries struggle to find financial support outside a formal budget process, the development of an academic library Friends group can be viewed as a positive strategy for many academic libraries. In fact, “direct financial support for library collections, services, and programs” topped the list of important benefits for an academic library in the survey conducted by the compilers of Friends of College Libraries.
The creation of an academic Friends group does have its challenges. Once cited as “the heart of an educational institution” by academic administrators, today’s academic library is more often viewed as an academic department subject to the same demands for accountability, assessment, and outcomes as those of other academic departments. The current movement toward accountability in academia and proof of outcomes and evidence-based education means that academic libraries must often prove their value. Megan Oakleaf’s The Value of Academic Libraries provides guidelines for library directors who want to demonstrate the value of academic libraries. If academic libraries are being asked to prove their worth, an academic Friends group can be a support group that demonstrates value.
Additional challenges cited in Friends of College Libraries include:
All of these challenges can be dealt with if the academic library director is committed to the development of a Friends group. A commitment from the director is key to the sustainability of the Friends and defining the purpose of academic Friends, whether they will be advocates, social planners, fundraisers, volunteers, or public relations representatives for the library.
Here is one testimonial about the value of academic Friends:
We have the best Friends! The Friends of the Mott Library volunteer their time and talents to promote the library, to host fun fundraising events, and to enhance library services. The Friends’ Art Auction is one of their most successful and anticipated events, and they have also had success hosting silent auctions and Bingo games. Thanks to their hard work, Mott Library receives funds to host author visits, to purchase special collections, and to address unmet needs. Annually, our Friends provide funds to purchase popular reading materials as well as books to honor MCC retirees. In the past, they have picked up the costs of a new detection system, a remodel of the lobby entrance area, and preservation materials for the college archives. Our Friends’ love of libraries is reflected in the good works they do for our library and our students! (Kathy Irwin, Director of Library Services, Mott Community College, Flint, Michigan)
If Friends have great value for an academic library, what are some of the purposes a Friends group might serve? The Friends of the Kettering University Library and Archives (FOLA) work together for the following purpose:
The purpose of the Friends shall be to promote an interest in the Library and Archives among students, faculty, staff, alumni, and public; to provide a fuller understanding of the role of the Library and Archives in education; to encourage gifts and bequests in support of the Library and Archives; and to assist the Kettering University Library and Archives in its educational mission through exhibits, programs, publications, and other means.
It’s always a good idea to be clear about what you expect to gain from your academic library Friends. At Kettering University, I expect my Friends to:
Developing an academic Friends group is all about building relationships and making connections. Expect a lot to get a lot in return.
Whether your goal is to start an academic library Friends group or revitalize a moribund Friends group, it is important to plan accordingly. Although it sounds simple to say, so much depends on library administration and the director’s role in supporting the Friends and coordinating the activities of the Friends.
At Kettering University, I laid the groundwork for developing an academic Friends group by collaborating with University Advancement (aka the Development Office) in the planning and development of FOLA. I was fortunate to have a development officer who shared my enthusiasm for starting a Friends group, and he worked closely with me to write the bylaws, gather potential board members, and launch the organization. Some of the details of a nonprofit organization were also handled by University Advancement; for example, FOLA’s 501(c)(3) status is under the umbrella of that office. University Advancement also assisted with the design for a FOLA membership brochure and for determination of membership fees. It’s always a good idea to get the endorsement of the provost or university president in support of an academic Friends group.
And clearly, the academic Friends group will want to have most of the following fundamental structures to successfully manage the organization:
It is important that the academic Friends’ mission be closely aligned with the institutional mission and its emphasis on teaching and learning. Here are FOLA’s mission, vision, and values statements.
The mission of the Friends of the Kettering University Library and Archives (FOLA) is to advocate for the library and archives as vital centers of learning at Kettering University.
The Friends of the Kettering University Library and Archives (FOLA) is the key organization providing support, information, and advocacy for the Library & Archives to meet the demands of 21st century university education.
In keeping with its mission FOLA adheres to the following values:
Positive, successful stories about academic library Friends can be found in the United for Libraries newsletter, The Voice for America’s Libraries, which contains a “Friends on Campus” section.
The ACRL Standards for Libraries in Higher Education has the following statements about performance indicators for external relations.
External Relations: Libraries engage the campus and broader community through multiple strategies in order to advocate, educate, and promote their value.
Communicate, communicate, communicate. A successful Friends group must maintain a system of communication with its immediate members as well as the entire campus community.
A Friends newsletter is one important communication method, but today it is increasingly important to communicate with “customers,” however defined, through social media. It’s easy to set up a Facebook or Twitter account for your academic Friends. However, “easy” does not necessarily translate into effective use of social media. As Laura Solomon has stated in her article in American Libraries, “Understanding Social Capital,” one has to have a distinct audience of followers and be prepared to acknowledge comments and tweets posted on social media. Solomon maintains that social capital is “what allows any organization or individual to make requests of its followers successfully.”
It’s also possible to use e-blasts to get out the message about your Friends, their activities, and their fundraising. Jeannette Woodward in Creating the Customer-Driven Academic Library points out that “at the core of Library 2.0 is the belief that to prosper, libraries must partner with their customers to rethink the whole notion of the academic library.” Building partnerships, fostering collaboration: that’s what Friends are for.
When all is said and done, developing an academic Friends group requires ongoing support from library administration. The fact is, the library director/ dean is the driving force behind the continuation of the Friends and the one primary factor leading to the success of the Friends. To be or not to be depends so much on energy, dedication, and enthusiasm for getting things accomplished. You can do this!
Friends groups all across the country are raising money and advocating for their libraries. In fact, many public libraries were started by women’s groups that felt that their communities would be much improved if everyone had free access to reading and information—eventually these groups evolved into what we call Friends of the Library groups today. Academic libraries have always been seen as central to their campus and learning, but Friends have been there to ensure that the library is prominent and raise extra money. It might surprise you to know that Harvard (then) College had the first known “Friends” group, which was formed in 1927!
Libraries are eager to use every avenue to engage with their communities. Friends groups are a strong link to making this happen. It seems true that behind every great library, there is (or soon will be!) a great Friends group.