Big Plans for a New Season!

Dear Key West Library Friends,

The Friends board has been busy all summer preparing for a stellar season — planning our  Speaker Series, Book Sales, Annual Gala Fundraiser, and a second Murder Mystery Tea.

But while we went about our usual business, other things were brewing. As you all know, these are turbulent times for public libraries.

This year Monroe County, anticipating less money from the Federal government and under pressure from the state, reduced its budget to create an emergency reserve for possible disasters. The cuts were focused on “quality of life services” and not “essential services.” Quality of life services covers the libraries. In the end, thanks in part to a quiet hurricane season, the most draconian cuts, including the elimination of days, hours, and services, were avoided. Nonetheless, that time on the knife’s edge, waiting for the budget to be finalized, made the Friends even more aware that we cannot take our little pink library for granted.

These precarious times make your contributions to the Friends of the Key West Library more important than ever. As always, we stand ready to help the library in any way we can. Every year, we support collection development including print, ebook, and audiobook acquisition, as well as programming for children and adults. In the past year, we’ve supplied equipment for preserving critical documents in the Florida Keys History Center and underwritten special projects like the popular Bike Repair Station and the new Palm Garden sound system.

We couldn’t do any of this without you, our members. One hundred percent of our member dues go to the library. We welcome members at every level, and we hope in the coming months, as you go about renewing your membership or becoming a business sponsor, you’ll consider the current situation and the uncertainties of the future when deciding how much to give.

Thank you so much for your generous support. We look forward to seeing you at our events this season!

Best wishes,
Barbara Ross,
President, Friends of the Key West Library