The King County Library System (KCLS), one of the largest and busiest library systems in the U.S., recognized 15 honorees last Saturday at Friends’ Day, an annual celebration of KCLS volunteers.
Hosted by the KCLS Foundation, Friends’ Day honors KCLS volunteers who contribute their time, talents and expertise to serve as good will ambassadors and raise money to supplement their local library’s budget to help the library better assist a greater number of patrons.
"We are very lucky to have such a robust network of friends, guilds and association members who support King County libraries and our communities," said KCLS Interim Director Stephen Smith. I have visited all 49 King County libraries and have seen much of the good work our friends have contributed, and the commitment and ambassadorship they serve within the communities of our libraries," he said.
Friends of the Library contribute greatly to the funding and program enrichment of KCLS. Collectively, KCLS volunteers spend thousands of hours serving the library each year, and raise approximately $300,000 annually for local library programming to augment KCLS public funding.
The event at KCLS’s Service Center in Issaquah drew more than 125 friends, volunteers and employees to recognize the volunteers and honor awardees. Volunteers are nominated each year by librarians and branch staff. The criteria for selection included leadership, accomplishments, initiative, creativity, advocacy, and length of service.
The 2017 Friends of the Library Hall of Fame Honorees are:
Lifetime Achievement Award: Ling Tan, FOLK (Friends of the Kirkland Library)
Friend of the Year: Dorothy Matsui, Friends of the Redmond Library
Friend of the Year: Julie Vaughn, Friends of the Richmond Beach Library
Hall of Fame:
- Sally Anderson, Friends of the Bothell Library
- Rubina "Ruby" Arrants, White Center Library Guild
- Lora Bolding, Friends of the Des Moines Library
- Barbara Braun, Friends of the Enumclaw Library
- Liz Davis, North Bend Friends of the Library
- Charlotte Johnson, Friends of the Enumclaw Library
- Dottie Kelly, North Bend Friends of the Library
- Wanda Manseau, Friends of the Federal Way Libraries
- Martha Pinsky, Friends of the Issaquah Library
- Mary Rabe, Newport Way Library Association
- Pat Reimer, Friends of the Woodinville Library
- Naomi Schafer, Bellevue Friends of the Library
At Friends Day 2017, KCLS Foundation Executive Director Beth Castleberry said to the honorees and volunteers, "The work you do – fundraising and advocacy – is indispensable to us. Your tireless support of libraries as a common good makes you truly the best "friends" one can make. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts–as I’m sure the 1.3 million patrons we serve would as well."
Smith added, "As a lover of libraries, I really appreciate all you do for your library and the inspiration you bring to KCLS."
For more about Friends of Library, please visit KCLS Friends of the Library.
