Leelanau
Township
Library

PURPOSE:

To promote the Leelanau Township Library and to provide direct financial assistance.

MEETINGS:

Friend’s meetings are held quarterly on the fourth Monday of September and April, times to be announced by postings and in the Leelanau Enterprise community calendar. The annual meeting is in June and is open to the public.

OFFICERS:

Suzanne Landes , President, term expires June 2009.
Kathryn May, Vice President, term expires June 2008
Sarah Shoemaker, Secretary, term expires June 2009
Dorothy Young, Treasurer, term expires June 2008

MEMBERSHIP:

Membership to the Friends of the Leelanau Township Library is open to the public for an annual rate of $1.00 with donations gratefully accepted. In addition to the various projects for fund raising, donations are a vital part of the group’s ability to give direct financial assistance to the library.

PROJECTS:

The Friends purchase all magazine subscriptions housed in the library for circulation to the public.

The Friends purchased the library copy machine and all proceeds go the Friend’s projects.

The book, The History of Leelanau Township was written by community members and members of the Friends of the Leelanau Township Library. The book, in its fifth printing, sells for $30 with all proceeds going to Friend’s projects. Books are available at the Library, Shear Pleasure, and some area bookstores.

The Friends sponsor an open house for National Library Week in April. Refreshments and “goodies” are available to Library patrons during this weeklong celebration.

The Friends sponsor the Summer Series each summer with guest speakers from the arts. All lectures are held on Tuesday evening. Admission is free with donations welcome to help defray some of the costs. 2008 Series.

An annual used book sale is sponsored and run by members of the Leelanau Township Friends of the Library. We accept used books at the library in May and June, before the sale. To volunteer for the book sale call 386-7531. This year’s book sale will be held on: Saturday, July 5, from 9:00 - 4:00.

The Friends have funded this Library Web site, and a wireless internet connection, as well as purchased the library sofa and leather chairs, computers and various components, encyclopedias, audio books on CD, provided funds for a “biography” project compiled by Phyllis Kilcherman as well as seed money to begin the classic book collection on CDs. These are just some of the more recent examples of direct financial assistance given the library.

HISTORY OF THE FRIENDS OF THE LEELANAU TOWNSHIP LIBRARY

The Friends of the Library was organized in 1962 by a group of local citizens inspired by Irma Dalzell, the Librarian. Once the group was formed and money raised in various ways for needed furnishings, a telephone and some new books for the library located in an old house in Northport, it became apparent that this library was not sufficient to meet the needs of the community. The focus and energy of the Friends soon turned to provide a new library. With help from many local citizens, consulting help from the State Library, plus fund raising and short-term loans from a few citizens, the move to build a new library was underway. The township board then decided it would like to have the building include township offices, possibly those of the village and the fire department. Under these circumstances, the old Village Hall could be replaced by the new building. A new building committee representing all the possible participants was formed. Arrangements had been made to secure federal matching funds if plans and the local financing were in place by Jan. 1, 1967. The Friends met their goal of providing a third of the total cost. A new building was completed and the library moved to its present location in 1968. The FRIENDS OF THE LEELANAU TOWNSHIP LIBRARY continues to be a vital resource to the township library. To become a friend of the library, please fill out a membership form.