Great Libraries Need Friends

The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library… enriching public libraries in Minneapolis

Our Mission

Founded in 1949, The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library is a 501(c)(3) organization that helps make our libraries thriving community centers of intellectual discovery and lifelong learning. With 5,000 members, The Friends is one of the largest and most accomplished library support groups in the country.

 We have received the Baker & Taylor Award for the nation’s most outstanding Friends group three times – most recently in 2007. A recent editorial by the Star Tribune began and ended with these lines: “Hats off to The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Libraries, who went from being a nice bunch of volunteers to a major community fundraising force almost overnight … It will be important to the success of the pending merger of the city’s library system with Hennepin County’s to keep this newly muscular Friends group going strong.”

As the vehicle for private support of our public libraries, The Friends contributed more than $9 million in direct financial, capital, and programmatic support to MPL in FY07. Our major forms of assistance include raising private funds for MPL, producing educational programs  that promote reading, operating two Friends Books Stores, and advocating for more open library hours. The Friends have 6.5 FTE staff. We are led by a 20-member Board of Directors. This year Friends will focus on supporting the successful consolidation of MPL and HCL into a single, integrated system positioned to deliver the highest quality, 21st-century library services to all the residents of Hennepin County. This means we will:

• Continue to raise funds for important early childhood, teen literacy, and after-school initiatives, summer reading, and other library programs that serve the needs of youth, immigrants, and small business owners. In addition, we will be strengthening the library collections and technology at the community libraries so that both systems will be first class when they merge

• Advocate on behalf of the consolidation and its “Guiding Principles,” which include expanded library hours and improved services.

• Offer a rich catalog of cultural programs such as Talk of the Stacks and The People’s University and other events and services that position our libraries as dynamic centers of intellectual discovery and lifelong learning.
  

Click here to download our 06-07 Annual Report. *
Click here to download our 05-06 Annual Report. *
Click here to download our most recent newsletter. *

*These documents requires Adobe Acrobat Reader,
click here to download this free software.

NEWS ALERTS:

October 31, 2007. Anita S. Duckor Named Friends Executive Director
Will Lead Organization through Transitional Period

The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library announced today that Anita S. Duckor has been named their new Executive Director, effective December 3, to lead The Friends through a 12 to 18 month transitional period.  Duckor is the current President of the Minneapolis Public Library Board and was instrumental in negotiating the consolidation of the Minneapolis Public Library and the Hennepin County Library. She will replace Colin Hamilton, who is stepping down on November 27 after seven years with The Friends.

“Given Anita’s unique skills and experiences, I can think of no better leader to help integrate The Friends into the new Hennepin County Library system,” says Friends Board President Glenn Miller. “We have incredible opportunities before us, and Anita can help us seize them.” Duckor has more than 30 years of business experience helping organizations grow and prosper, culminating in her current position as President of Duckor & Associates, a business consulting company. She is widely respected across Minnesota, having been appointed by Governor Arne Carlson and St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman to serve economic and community development commissions.

Duckor has also served on The Friends’ Board of Directors for eight years, and was part of a core volunteer group that led the New Central Library Capital Campaign.

“The pending consolidation of our library systems positions the united Hennepin County Library to be one of, if not the, premier public libraries in the country,” says Anita Duckor. “Achieving that potential will require strong private partnerships and committed library advocates throughout our community, and those are things The Friends can deliver. I look forward to helping put one of the final pieces of the puzzle in place.”

As Executive Director, Duckor’s primary responsibility will be to facilitate The Friends’ anticipated consolidation with the Library Foundation of Hennepin County and to develop partnerships with our new colleagues at the Hennepin County Library. She will also have responsibilities for fundraising, advocacy, and new program development.

Hamilton joined The Friends in 2000 and led the organization through an unusually complicated time that included the library referendum, the New Central Library Capital Campaign, and the public funding debates that helped spur MPL’s pending consolidation with the Hennepin County Library. Under his leadership, The Friends annual fundraising grew by more than 600% and membership has tripled. Hamilton has accepted a new position as the Director of Advancement at Artspace, with responsibilities that include helping to complete the Shubert Theater, just a block away from the Central Library.

The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library support our libraries through fundraising, advocacy, and free cultural programs. The Friends have 5,200 members. In their last fiscal year, The Friends contributed $9.3 million in grants and services to the Minneapolis Public Library. This summer, The Friends received the Baker & Taylor Award for the nation’s most outstanding Friends group.

July 18, 2007. The Friends Grant $1 Million for MPL Collections
Approximately 40,000 New Books Will Enrich Library Offerings

The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library have completed a $1 million grant to the Minneapolis Public Library to support new book purchases. The approximately 40,000 books purchased through this gift will be shared by libraries across Minneapolis. Funds for this grant were raised through “Be Part of the Story,” the capital campaign for the new Central Library, and a new initiative called “Give a Book to the Entire City.”

“Dreams are free,” said Library Director Kit Hadley, “but the books that inspire them aren’t. The support of The Friends – and their thousands of members – will help bring renewed vitality to our shelves, and that in turn will bring creativity, inspiration, and essential skills to the people of our community.”

Although the Minneapolis Public Library has one of the largest and deepest historic public library collections in the country, it has been severely under-spending on new collections for years. Public funding for new purchases peaked in 2000 at $2.4 million, or 12.4% of the total operating budget. By 2004, it had dropped to $1.8 million, or 9.8% of the operating budget. For 2007, new purchases have dropped again to $1.5 million, or 6.5% of the operating budget. The industry standard is to spend between 12 – 15% of a library’s total operating budget on new collections each year.

Participants in the “Give a Book to the Entire City” were asked to make donations in increments of $25. For each $25 contributed, donors could add customized bookplates, honoring a friend or relative, or with a special message to readers, to a single book.

“There has been great and appropriate public uproar about the loss of library hours and the temporary closure of three community libraries,” said Friends Executive Director Colin Hamilton. “But during this same period, our collection has been terribly undermined. Once again, the citizens of Minneapolis have shown their incredible commitment to our libraries by helping to maintain our collections as we work to restore public funding.”

At the American Library Association conference this June, The Friends were honored with the Baker & Taylor Award for the nation’s top Friends group. Last June, The Friends completed a $16.4 million capital campaign for the new Minneapolis Central Library.

May 23, 2007. The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library received the Baker & Taylor Award from the Friends of Libraries USA. The Baker & Taylor Award honors a Friends organization for outstanding accomplishments during the previous year.

May 14, 2007. The Friends of the Libraries USA (FOLUSA) announced their 2006 Best of Friends awards for print and electronic materials this month. The Friends won 5 out of the 8 awards given to large friends groups including Best Fundraisers, Best Program Publicity, Best Print Newsletters, Best Websites, and Best Other Materials for our annual report.

Friends of Libraries U.S.A. (FOLUSA) is a national nonprofit organization providing networking opportunities and educational support for local Friends of Libraries groups, Trustees, and library Foundations across the country. Over 2,000 Friends groups, Boards of Trustees, libraries and Foundations belong to FOLUSA representing hundreds of thousands of library supporters.