The Washoe County Library System and the Board of County Commissioners will help celebrate Friends of Washoe County Library group at an upcoming Board of County Commissioners meeting to be held on Tuesday, October 17, 2017 as part of the 12th annual celebration of National Friends of Libraries Week.
Founded in 1980, Friends of Washoe County Library System (FWCL) is a member-supported 501(c)(3) Nevada non-profit organization dedicated to advocating, fundraising, and providing support for Washoe County Library System. To date, FWCL have raised over $2,000,000. for the Washoe County Library System. Currently over 700 community members contribute annually to the Friends, and many of these contributors actively volunteer their time to assist the group with fundraising efforts that include the used book sale events. FWCL also operate a year-round bookstore and gift shop called Secondhand Prose. Secondhand Prose is a unique hidden treasure of a bookstore and gift shop that opened in 1999. The store is located at the end of the Gallery at the Northwest Reno Library. Secondhand Prose is operated and managed entirely by volunteers of the FWCL.
The work of FWCL highlights on an on-going basis the fact that our library system is the cornerstone of the community and provides opportunities for all to engage in the joy of life-long learning and to connect with the thoughts and ideas of others from ages past to the present. FWCL offer the community a chance to invest in the success of the Library by donating funds or volunteering, and raise money and their voices to ensure a first-class public library for Washoe County residents. Backed by a belief that libraries are uniquely democratic, FWCL promote, advocate, and seek funding to support the services, programs, and collections of Washoe County Library System. Through their projects, they strive to give children an educational head start, encourage literacy, and foster lifelong learning and recreation for adults in our community.
To join, or for more information on Friends of Washoe County Library please call 775-324-5522 or visit washoelibraryfriends.org.
National Friends of Libraries Week is coordinated by United for Libraries, a division of the American Library Association with approximately 4,000 personal and group members representing hundreds of thousands of library supporters. United for Libraries supports those who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries, and brings together library trustees, advocates, friends, and foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.ala.org/united.
