Time to renew your FOCL membership

While the pandemic proved to be a major challenge for all, it is now receding into the past and Friends groups are resuming much-needed activities. In the new normal, many groups are looking for new ways to support their libraries and communities. Friends of Connecticut Libraries (FOCL) is here to help you. Our mission to facilitate communication, collaboration, and advocacy among Friends groups and libraries throughout the state is even more important at this moment. We invite you to join/renew your membership in FOCL, along with 100 other local Friends groups, individual library friends, library directors and organizations to support this effort.

Members can take advantage of FOCL’s centralized resources for Friends groups:

• The FOCL website, which includes an extensive resource section about Friends topics, a newly revised Friends handbook which will be available this Fall, a listing of member groups, and book sale information. 

• An active FOCL Facebook community.

• FOCL-Forum, an email listserv where you can ask questions, share information, and post announcements.

• Events on topics of interest to Friends groups.  Note:  While we couldn’t meet in person this past year, we held several chat groups on Zoom to problem solve, share successes and keep visibility in our communities.  Recordings are posted on our website

• FOCL-Point, our newsletter, contains important news and ideas for Friends throughout the state.

• Recognition of outstanding individuals, groups and projects at FOCL’s annual awards meeting planned for Spring 2022.  

• Grants and consultations to Friends groups in need of organizational support.

We encourage you to go online to fill out your membership information and pay your dues here.  (If you need help logging in or have both a group and an individual membership, email friendsctlibraries@gmail.com.)  However, if you prefer, you can mail your membership form and payment to FOCL by October 15.  For groups, this will ensure earlier inclusion of group information in our online directory and calendar.  Individual donations may be tax deductible.  

Thank you for all you do for libraries in Connecticut and for supporting FOCL’s work! Please let us know if there are any other ways we can serve your group and library.

Sincerely,

Linda Grayson