Countdown to a Friends Group:
From Concept to Reality
Month
Six Months
Out
Five
Months Out
Four
Months Out
Activities
 The library administration recognizes the need and wants a Friends group.
 Recruit a core group of supporters: faithful, energetic volunteers; devoted patrons.
The core group should reflect the diversity of the community.
 Start talking to everyone: “We’re going to have a Friends group.”
 Begin reading up on Friends groups and potential roles and activities using print and
online resources list from “Getting Started” Workshop
 Consult Handbook for Connecticut Library Friends, pg. 8-9 for planning steps and
sample agenda for the invitational meeting of the core group of supporters.
 Hold an invitational meeting of the core group and representatives of the library to
formally discuss the establishment of a Friends group
 Clarify the roles of the Board of Trustees, the library director, and the Friends
People from the invitational meeting, now the “steering or planning committee,” proceed
with the necessary steps to establish the Friends.
Led by the “interim chairperson,” establish a schedule for the steering committee to:
 establish the initial purpose(s)
 write a clear mission statement for the Friends
 plan the organizational structure needed to carry out this mission (e.g., officers,
committees, task forces) and to encourage volunteer engagement
 write basic job descriptions
 review samples and draft the by-laws
 establish membership criteria/categories and a dues structure that will optimize the
number of members (e.g., student, family, senior rates)
These steps may continue into “Three Months Out.”
Three
Months Out
Two
Months Out
 Develop a simple but professional looking membership brochure – highlight volunteer
jobs to consider, including leadership positions
 Begin membership recruitment to sign up residents as members of the Friends
 Recruit officers
 The library administration, trustees, and potential Friends are in agreement on the
expectations for the group.
 Establish date and plan the first public meeting
 Library administration appoints a staff member as liaison to attend Friends
meetings (ex officio = no vote)
 If Friends Staff Liaison does not regularly attend meetings of the library’s Board of
Trustees, board should appoint a Trustee Liaison to the Friends to attend the Friends
meetings
 Friends steering committee discusses appointment of Liaison from Friends to the
library’s Board of Trustees
 Meeting place, time, and purpose is publicized as many ways as possible
Month
Two
Months Out
(con’t)
One Month
Out
First
Friends of
the Library
Meeting!
Activities
 Steering committee follows up on offers of volunteer assistance marked on
membership forms
 Send meeting notice directly to every member currently enrolled
 Consult Handbook for Connecticut Library Friends, pg. 16-19, for step-by-step
instructions to develop the agenda for the first public meeting
 Hold the first public meeting at which the Friends officially become an organization;
include a program to attract a higher attendance
 By-laws are adopted; officers are elected; committee chairpersons set; date/place/time
of first Friends Board meeting to be established
 President publicizes date/place/time of first Friends Board meeting and circulates
agenda to all officers, committee chairs, and Friends Staff Liaison
 Liaison from the Friends to the library’s Board of Trustees appointed and makes a
report at the next Board of Trustees meeting
 President convenes first Friends of the Library Board meeting
 Friends Staff Liaison attends Friends meeting and reports on library initiatives,
programs, and (if no Trustee Liaison to the Friends) current business before the Board
of Trustees
 Friends discuss work plan and projected events (e.g., programs, book sale dates)
looking one year ahead
 Officers complete paperwork for Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN)
The relationship between the library and the Friends continues to evolve.
The group
is
underway!
 Use social media to broaden your reach: encourage attendance at monthly Friends
Board meetings, book sales, program events
 Plan an organized membership drive and have membership brochures distributed
throughout the community
 Once EIN received, Friends officers open bank accounts (checking and savings)
 Application made for NYS Exempt Organization Certificate for purchases made by the
Friends of the Library
 Library director makes a wish list (with staff input) of needs for the coming year.
 Both groups establish clear lines of communication.
 Consider drafting a written operating agreement (a memorandum of understanding):
detail the roles and communications needed among the staff, Board, and Friends
 Friends Liaison to the Board of Trustees outlines work plan and projected events
(e.g., book sale dates) to trustees and asks for approval.
 Consideration given to apply for 501(c)(3) status to receive charitable donations
(Friends as fund-raisers) and make dues tax deductible for the donor
 Join Friends of Libraries Section/New York Library Association and enroll all elected
officers at no additional charge
Sources:
“What are the essential steps?” (p. 8, Handbook for Connecticut Library Friends)
Developed by Lisa C. Wemett, Friends of Libraries/NYLA.
www.nyla.org/friends Contact us at: FLS.NYLA@yahoo.com
last updated: 10/4/15
All rights reserved
file: countdown checklist