For more information about the Bluffton Public Library and or to become a member of the Friends visit www.bluffton
publiclibrary.org.

By Austin Arnold, BGSU Icon intern

Paula Scott is a member of a local organization known as Friends of the Bluffton Public Library. It is a volunteer, non-profit organization in full support of the Bluffton Public Library.

The library is estimating significant cuts in its budget and funding for this year and Scott along with other Friends of the Library are coming up with ways to help the library out.

Scott first became aware of the organization 10 years ago when a man came up to her at the library with a plate a cookies and asked her to become a Friend of the Library. Scott said the group was very welcoming and inviting, so she attended one meeting but she found there was not a lot for her to do as a member and she drifted away.

But now, with the library facing a projected 30 percent cut of its materials budget, Scott said there is a lot to do and members can easily be active as she has been since last August.

Volunteers for the organization are needed for a number of reasons: to help with special events, fundraising, and everyday activities that need to be done in and out of the library, such as weeding outside the building and watering plants.

For the past year, the Friends of the Bluffton Public Library consisted of 13 active members. However, Feb. 1, marked the beginning of the group's membership drive, encouraging more people to become a Friend of the library and donate $5 or more. After the donation, a new member can decide whether to be an active member or a financial friend.

In the first two weeks of the membership drive, the group has received 20 new members and Scott hopes to exceed that number highly in the months to come. She also explains how one can go about becoming a member.

"To join, it's as easy as stopping by the library or filling out a form on-line and then choosing whether to be a sponsor or volunteer," Scott said.

Along with their efforts of gathering new members, the Friends of the Library also have a couple of programs planned in the near future in hopes to benefit the library.

The first event will be a book sale on April 12, which is being supported by those who have donated books and more donations will be taken at any time. On April 29, a special event will take place at the library called "Tea with Jane Austen. " At this event, a local woman will be portraying the famous author while the Friends of the Library will be serving an elegant meal and tea.

There is also an on-going program the Friends are supporting, Bucks for Books, which is a drive trying to generate $5,000 for the library overall. At the end of 2009, the Friends of the Library donated $1,000 to the program and are still looking to achieve that $5,000 goal.

"We do have a lot of great things on the horizon," Scott said. "We hope to plan more programs like the Jane Austen event, we're also looking at using Amazon.com as a fundraiser for the library and we planning on having a community garage sale at the beginning of August."

Scott said the Friends of the library are also looking for new ideas as well and hoping for some feedback from community members on what the group should do for future fundraisers.

For more information about the Bluffton Public Library and or to become a member of the Friends visit www.blufftonpubliclibrary.org.