At their meeting on June 6, the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners recognized and thanked the Friends of the Key West Library for their more than 50 years of commitment to education, information and culture in Key West and the Florida Keys, as well as its $70,000 donation this year to the Key West Public Library Branch. The Monoe County Board of Commissioners joined Key West Library staff and Friends of the Library volunteers for the recognition and check presentation, pictured above. 

The $70,000 contribution did not include the generous $5,000 gift earlier this year from the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys designated for digital collections. The $70,000 gift broke all previous records and constituted a nearly 30 percent rise over support the Friends have given in previous years. 

The Friends support 100 percent of adult programming, which recently included performers like The Kennedys and Toney Rocks, and supplies for the craft, jewelry, ceramics, painting, chess, and creative writing programs. The Friends fund roughly 50 percent of the print and electronic books purchased for the branch.

Since 1972, the year of its inception, the Friends have raised funds of more than $1 million to provide better programs and services for the people of Key West. More than 40 percent of Key West residents have a library card, which is a salient indicator of how important library services are to the community.