The Library Friends of Cook County plans to hold its annual book sale again during Fisherman’s picnic. The event is scheduled to be at the Community Center August 4th and 5th. A member’s only preview is scheduled for the evening of August 3rd. Anyone who would like to participate in the early opportunity at the books needs to be a member. Memberships may be purchased in advance at the library, or at the door of the sale. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to come choose some books. The money earned during this event is almost 100 percent distributed to all sorts of libraries throughout Cook County.
The Library Friends provides financial support to every library in the county. Recently the group has annually distributed more than $20,000 to libraries from Lutsen to Grand Portage, in all the schools, and the Grand Marais Public Library. The Library Friends are proud to make a difference in our community by funding projects, activities, and the purchase of library materials. The group also supports activities by hosting events at the library, providing sound equipment for the Grand Marais Public Library to use during events, and by conducting an annual book sale event each year during Fisherman’s Picnic.
Besides funding a variety of library initiatives, the Library Friends also provide a very valuable service to the residents of our community – a great way to dispose of their unwanted books! While such donations are dropped off at the library, the actual gift being made is to the Library Friends who, in the old city jail cells at City Hall, sort, organize and prepare books for the book sale. We also separate materials that aren’t suitable for “rehoming” and deliver them to the recycling center. (Yes, sometimes the kindest gift you can give the Earth is to recycle a book!) Literally thousands of volunteer hours go into this process of accepting book donations and conducting a book sale. Such a Library Friends group could not prosper without the contributions of many dedicated volunteers.
The result of these efforts in just the past couple years are significant. Library Friends funding has provided: . A new sound system for the Grand Marais Public Library. . Support for circulating collections in Birch Grove, Grand Marais District 166, Great Expectations, Oshki Ogimaag, and others. . Funding to support the Friday Night Reels film series at Grand Marais Public Library. . Support for library programs held at the Grand Marais Public Library. . Funding for electronic databases in the public school library. . Volunteers to support the Grand Marais Readers & Writers Festival.
The Library Friends of Cook County was founded in 1979. Due to the amazing support of the Cook County community over those years, the group has grown immensely, and owes its ability to make a difference for our libraries to the generosity of community members who support us in so many ways, whether volunteering, buying memberships, making book donations, making cash donations at the book sale, or making outright cash donations—all are important.
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