Below is the 2008 Friends' Annual Appeal letter for your consideration.  To make a contribution, you can use this convenient form.  And if you already contributed to this year's campaign, we thank you very much for your support!

Dear Winchester Friend of the Library,

This letter is to ask for your support through the Friends’ Annual Appeal to sustain the superior quality of our Town’s Public Library. 

As a Friends’ supporter in the past, we know you appreciate the importance of having funds beyond the scope of the Town’s budget, to maintain the high standards of our Library in which we take such pride – the materials, resources, and services the Library provides for all ages; our beautiful building, and our exceptional staff. 

Here are some of the Library offerings funded by the Friends that you or your family may enjoy:

• Express Books (latest best sellers—no waiting)
• Over 100 magazine subscriptions
• Books on CD
• Four of the Sunday openings in 2008
• Museum passes
• Thirty-five children’s programs in 2007
• Summer reading programs and supplies
• New puppets for the Children’s Room puppet theater
• Proquest genealogy database with over 4 billion names
• Authorfest Luncheon, in cooperation with the schools
• Book Letters, online emails about new books
• Carts to display new books and DVDs
• Speaking Volumes, the town-wide Library newsletter distributed 3 times a year
• Redesigned Library Web site
• Complementary rainy day book bags
• Partial funding for Library strategic planning
• Staff development opportunities.
• New book bags, hats, note cards for sale

Demographic shifts in our Town make it imperative that the Friends help with needed enhancements -- increased access through the Library to the growing body of Internet and Web information resources; new ways to serve people of all life stages and cultural backgrounds; and resources, programs and services connecting Winchester residents to the multi-faceted life of our community and the world.

Some of the exciting upcoming Library projects include:

• Construction of a small group meeting room and art gallery on the main floor
• Redesign of the main floor with additional comfortable seating, new layout and furniture for the public Internet stations, and additional public computers, to create an inviting space for active use of Library resources 
• Special collections and programs to address needs of identifiable population groups such as baby boomers, parents, newcomers, middle schoolers, the self-employed, adults seeking further education, and shut-ins
• Newspapers, magazines, popular books, and audio-visual materials in languages other than English to serve the needs of Winchester’s growing multi-cultural population
• Partnering in projects with other community institutions such as the Jenks Center, Multicultural Network, Community Music School, Griffin Museum, WinCam, and Family Action Network, as well as Winchester Public Schools, to bring Library resources to bear in numerous spheres of organized community life
• Building upon the Library’s current Web site and developing a virtual library to create a cyber presence for our Library’s resources
• Improved signage and displays to help ensure that patrons are aware of the Library’s and collaborating organizations’ resources, services, and programs

We appeal to you as a Winchester household to continue your support of the enhancements to our Public Library that can come about only in partnership with private donors.  It is such generosity that will enable our Library to adapt to changing times and meet our community’s evolving needs.

For whatever you can contribute, we thank you so very much.

Sincerely,

Bonnie Alpert
2007/8 President and Chair, Development Committee      

Who are the Friends of the Winchester Public Library?
The Friends of the Winchester Public Library (“The Friends”) is the grassroots organization that supports our Library’s continuing excellence. We raise funds for publications, equipment, and services which are not included in the town’s budget but which enhance the Library’s mission of improving the quality of life for Winchester residents. Additional ways that the Friends volunteer our energies to ensure that our Library serves our community to the fullest possible extent include producing the Library newsletter, serving on committees to plan collaborative events, and supporting the Trustees in their fundraising and community outreach activities.  

We’re excited to announce that in FY 2007-2008, along with the ongoing projects that the Friends traditionally support, we will make special effort to help the Library implement its strategic plan that responds to our community’s changing needs. 

• Significant main floor reconfigurations will create an updated physical environment that reflects how people use libraries today.  Consolidating new acquisitions -- both fiction and non-fiction -- in one place, having lots of display shelving to feature these materials, and providing more seating space in the expanded book display area will greatly facilitate our ability to browse through and locate appealing materials. Also, more seats, table space, and public access computers in the Reference Room will accommodate the increased number of us who use our expanding array of databases. 
• Joint activities and programs with other community institutions will foster cross-community collaboration that will enhance our town’s cultural richness and reflect the centrality of our Library in the life of Winchester residents. 
• Services and resources for underserved residents will further the strategic goal of the Library being Winchester’s community center.

On an ongoing basis, the Friends will continue to fund periodicals, DVD’s, Sunday hours, museum passes, Friends Express best-sellers, adult and children’s programs, Children’s Room supplies, and the various other publications, equipment, and services that provide us with General Information, Current Topics and Titles, Lifelong Learning opportunities, and Community Connections.

We sincerely thank everyone whose generosity ensures that the Winchester Public Library remains a center of distinction in our town. You exhibit this spirit through the Friends’ Annual Appeal and “Be a Friend” drives, as well as through the Trustees’ Endowment Fund, Sunday Hours campaign, and estate planning mechanisms; special donations; and volunteering your energies and expertise.  We are so very grateful!.

To Join the Friends

Friends of the Winchester Public Library
2007-2008 Board

Friends-sponsored Adult & Young Adult Programs 2007-2008

Friends-sponsored Children's Programs 2007-2008

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The Library Newsletter:
Speaking Volumes, is published by the Friends and delivered to each Winchester household three times a year.

The Princess & The Frog created by Jeanne Fiorentini This beautiful quilt is in the Children's Room. The quilt was commissioned by The Friends of the Winchester Public Library

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Friends' Express Books! Looking for the latest bestseller and you don't want to wait in a reserve queue? Check out the Friends' Express Book display in our new book area! Thanks to the Friends of the Library, best sellers are on display and available for borrowing in both fiction and nonfiction. Unlike our old rental book system, there is no fee. The hottest bestsellers can be borrowed for seven days at no charge. After seven days, the extended use fee is 25 cents per day and the money is returned to the Friends.

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Friends of the Winchester Public Library
2008-2009 Board

To Contact the Friends: Click here and please put "Friends of the Library" in the Subject Line.

Officers
President: Rosemary A. Sullivan
Vice President: Donal Grelotti
Treasurer: Joan Wyrwicz
Recording Secretary: Bill O'Connor

Committees

Archives: Bill O'Connor

Development:
Annual Appeal: Mary Lu Cowgill
Grants: Rosemary A. Sullivan
Mailings: Pam Boerner
Database: Joan MacDonald

Events: Jim Kent, Maria Nicholson, Jill Shay

Newsletter: Mary Farrell

Nominating: Susan Fennelly, Ann Pisani

Programs: Dotty Burstein

Publicity/Features: Carole Davidson, Karen Martin
School Newsletters: Martin Mahoney
Articles: Jann Sheehy
Posters: Doris Taber

Winchester Reads: Joan O'Neill

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