By Dick Piernot, President
It was not that long ago, the “Before Times,” that is, when FTOL volunteers were busy processing donations in the sorting/searching rooms at the GRB and NP libraries. Donations were arriving daily at both locations – books, DVDs, CDs, and the occasional games, puzzles, and toys. Volunteers were busy with the process of assessing and separating donations. While that was happening other FTOL volunteers were planning for an Arbor Day celebration and a sequence of One City One Book events. A strategic planning effort was underway, the glow of the successful Open House was fading, and consideration was being given to future similar events in partnership with the Library. Looking back, those were the “good ole days.”
It is now the “In-Between” times, that is, between the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic with the concomitant Library closure and that day when the health authorities can legitimately say that the pandemic is over. Of course, when that happens, we shall be in the “After Times.”
It has been a struggle for FTOL to recover from the closure of the Library and adapt to the reality of no work spaces in the library, no Friends Bookshop sales, no donations except by appointment, no in-person meetings to organize and plan a recovery, and no events to let the community know we are still here. Needless to say, our ability to raise funds to support Library programs via our usual methods has been greatly diminished. Loss of the Friends’ Bookshop sales, combined with the loss of donations to maintain the inventory for online sales, has reduced our monthly income to less than one-fifth of that in the “Before Times.”
Fortunately, FTOL has always been a resilient organization, and despite the hand that Covid-19 has dealt us, we are not folding. With a newly elected Board and an enthusiastic and willing group of volunteers, both old and new, FTOL is clawing back by arranging to accept donations by appointment at both GRB and NP, transporting those donations to volunteer’s garages and spare rooms for searching and sorting, working with the Library staff to get access to discarded books, continuing the online listing of books, CDs and DVDs, delivering books to community organizations who request them, and cooperating with the Discover service to pick up excess inventory.
FTOL Board members are continuing to meet virtually via Zoom to further develop a strategic plan that includes potential new sources of revenue as well as enhancing the current sources. The Board is committed to our role as Advocate for the library and is planning to expand that advocacy where possible. Our website and our newsletter document our current status and need for community support. New members and volunteers are actively using social media (Facebook and Instagram) to publicize our donations to other organizations.
In the immortal words of Bob Dylan “The times, they are a changing.” We are still here, and we are planning to be here in the “After Times.”