Friends of the Ely Public Library

Mission Statement:
The purpose of this organization shall be to foster closer relations between the Ely Public Library and the citizens of the Ely area; to promote knowledge of the functions, resources, services and needs of the library; to lead in development of a program for the extension and improvement of the Library services and resources; and to aid in the provision of adequate housing and other facilities for the Library.

The Friends of the Ely Public Library is an organization of citizens from the greater Ely community area. We are a 501C(3) Non Profit Organization. We are a Non Government Organization & not part of the city of Ely, MN government. We operate with a separate board of directors from the city's library board. We can not change policies of the library. We work towards helping the library's operation by donating services & money directly to the library based on its needs.

2012 Current board members
Joe Owens - President
Herman Blasing - Vice President
Nez Artisensi - Treasurer
Gail Sheddy - Secretary
Consie Powell
Karen Pajari
Pam Webster
Darlene Nemanich
Molly Johnston

Annual Open Meeting for Membership
2nd Tuesday each year in June
2012 Annual meeting will be 6/12 1pm at the library

Board of Directors Meeting
monthly at 1 PM second Tuesday each month

All meetings are in Room 123

click here for our Book Club List

F.O.L. Community Book Club :
meets third Monday of each month at 3 PM in room 123 at the Community Center/Library.
All are welcome!

We are interested in:

promoting the growth of the library
enriching its resources
making its services better known to the community
providing volunteer services as requested
increasing cultural opportunities by sponsoring library programs

Friends of the Library is a voluntary, non-profit organization formed in November 1991

As Friends we:

sponsor a book sale for the membership and community
sponsor the Summer Reading Program for kids
provide extras as needed for other programming
host readings by writers
publish a newsletter several times a year
create window displays
provide homebound book service to the community

Join US!!
We are always looking for new members to volunteer to be on our Friends Board and help with these services and more!

To become a member of the Ely Friends of the Library, mail your membership dues of $5 per Individual, $20 per family, $50 or more for Best Friend and Lifetime membership of $250. Membership year is 1 June - 31 May. Donations are accepted at any time. Contact the library staff for information on making a donation.

to: Friends of the Library

C/o Ely Public Library
30 s. 1^st Avenue East
Ely, MN 55731

Or stop in at the library and drop it off.

In addition to sponsoring the Children's Summer Reading Program, funds raised by the Friends have been used for starting a CD collection, adding to the book and video collections, new shelving and display racks,

book carts, an audio/video splicing machine for repair of damaged tapes, and the furniture in the fireplace room. With the planned expansion of the Library into the AEOA office space, we will be voting to spend more of our money for the library and perhaps be able to open a used book store (which would be managed and staffed by the Friends) in a corner of the new space.

So, if you love books, libraries and reading, you belong in this organization. We have a great community library and it will only get better with help from the Friends! Join Us!

Ely Public Library

Ely, Minnesota

Friends of the Ely Public Library