Another month, another fun FURL meeting.
On February 11, the Friends of the Urbana Regional Library held our annual meeting in the upstairs conference room of the Urbana Library. This meeting was huge, both in information and attendance. In addition to the usual agenda we discussed FURL highlights from the past year, Jess and Janet from Frederick County Public Libraries came to talk about the Summer Reading Program, and we met members from the Teen Advisory Board (TAB).
FURL has made great strides this year. Some of our 2019 goals were to increase community participation, have more community outreach, and increase book sales. We have achieved these goals by actively recruiting new members (18 new members), embracing social media and technology with a new Facebook page and website, and accepting credit card payments at the book sales.
It was great having Jess and Janet attend our meeting this month. According to their calculations, 31% of Urbana participants completed the 2019 Summer Reading Program and 4.8 million minutes were read countywide. Although total participation was down from previous years around the county, they wanted to emphasize that the Summer Reading Program is not just for children. Adults are also encouraged to sign-up and log minutes. Furthermore, all reading counts toward your total time. This includes reading to children, listening to audio books, flipping through a magazine, or browsing your news feed.
Sponsorship is very important to keeping the Summer Reading Program active and FURL pledged $1000 to FCPL for the 2020 program making us a “Top-Tier” sponsor.
Also attending our annual meeting were two representatives from the Teen Advisory Board (TAB). TAB members comprise of approximately 70 middle and high school students from around the Urbana area. They regularly volunteer to help the library with programing needs and special events. TAB also hosts guest speakers.
TAB is currently looking for sponsors to help subsidize the cost of food and snacks at their meetings. FURL has agreed to fund the group for the next few months, but if any other local organizations are interested in helping you can contact Urbana Library Teen coordinator, Tyler. TAB meets the first Thursday of the month.
Overall, we feel FURL had a phenomenal year. We are still looking for ways to streamline the book sorting process, make the book sales more efficient, and engage with the community-at-large.
The Spring book sale is scheduled for April 4 and 5. At the March meeting we will discuss setting up the sale and organizing volunteers. We are going to try a new signup for volunteers. If you are interesting in volunteering for the sale make sure to like our Facebook page and stay posted on our website.
FURL’s next meeting is March 10 at 6:30 in the upstairs conference room.