We’re Back!

Dear Friends,

We are so excited to share the news of our upcoming Friends of the Key West Library season. Even though many of us have not been in Key West over the summer, the board has been working hard to plan for the year ahead. Bigger than ever, the 2024 Speaker Series will run on 10 successive Mondays from January 15 through March 18, featuring both nationally renowned and local favorite writers.

We are especially delighted that our fundraising gala — taking place on February 19 — will feature Key West’s own Judy Blume. Judy will be in conversation about the very important topic of book banning, an issue which many libraries and schools are facing in these difficult times.

All of our events will take place in the Palm Garden (inside the library, in case of inclement weather.) Even the gala will be held in the Palm Garden this year! We think the setting will be magical, and this will also enable us to provide a larger donation to our marvelous library. You can see the lineup of speakers below or on our website by clicking here.

 All events, other than the gala itself, are free. This year we will not take pre-registrations for Monday nights—seating will be on a first-come, first-seated basis. We hope to seat everyone! If you or your business would like to consider sponsoring one or more of the Friends events this year, we welcome your interest. You can find more information about that opportunity here.

It’s also time to mark the dates for our book sales on your calendars: December 2, January 6, February 3, March 2. We are once again accepting book donations, you can find the guidelines for what we can use on our webpage here.

In other news, we are delighted to roll out a brand new website, thanks to several talented board members! Stephanie Gordon and Barbara Ross have been our architects, with assists from various other board members. We have included more information in this newsletter. But take a look for yourself! The new site should be easier to navigate so you don’t miss a single Friends event. Click here. 

We’ll be sending out our traditional renewal request next month, but we’d be delighted to have you renew early by clicking here. As you know, all of our membership income goes directly to benefit the library. If you can, consider increasing the amount of your donation. Whether or not that’s feasible, please invite your friends and neighbors to join us in this worthy cause!

Thanks for your support in past years—we can’t wait to see you again!

Warmly,
Roberta Isleib, President