Libraries need Friends, too

There are more than a hundred sugar cookies in Aida Arain-Alam’s freezer. She hopes to have 250 ready, as well as 15 pies, 15 loaf cakes and as many chocolate chip cookies as she can manage, by next week.

The Friends of the Weston Public Library’s fall book and bake sale begins Thursday, Nov. 12. It is the main fundraising event for the nonprofit, which exists to supplement the Weston Public Library’s budget. Arain-Alam, the bake sale co-chair, said being a member of the Friends has connected her to other residents.

“This is such a phenomenal way to stay connected to the community,” said Arain-Alam. “The library is one of the most important institutions that everyone has access to.”

The Friends provide $50,000 to the library budget every year, according to President Krysten Hartman. This money supports the local history room, visiting musicians, library passes and summer reading programs. Library Director Jennifer Warner said the group is vital to the library for both fundraising and community engagement.

“I cannot imagine our library without our Friends. They are such an integral part of our community,” Warner said. “Their generosity, their spirit, their enthusiasm – they’re just terrific. We’re very lucky to have them.”

Many libraries across the country have a friends group, according to Warner. Public libraries, as part of the municipal government, are unable to fundraise on their own. Friends groups can fundraise, and Weston’s supplements the library’s $2 million budget. Hartman said she’s proud to help make the library what it is.

“If you want the library to be special, you have to support it,” she said.

Heather Borden, former Friends president, said she is grateful for Weston’s library and the community support, especially at a time when book bans threaten libraries  across the country. The Friends recently hosted a screening for Kim Snyder’s documentary “The Librarians,” which focuses on the fight against book bans in Florida, Texas and other states. Borden said support for the library is strong in Weston. 

“No matter your political perspective, I think everybody is pretty supportive of the library and community resources,” she said. “We are a small town, and I think people realize and support the community.”

Borden said that being part of the Friends has connected her with the wider Weston community because people from different walks of life all come to the library.

“There’s young families with kids, but there’s also our older population and everyone in between,” she said. “We’re contributing to something that really touches everybody.”

Next week’s book and bake sale, which starts Thursday Nov. 12, for Friends members and is open Friday and Saturday for the general public, is the group’s biggest chance to bring people together. Arain-Alam said the bake sale is how she joined the Friends — she was first asked to join as a baker before she decided to join the board. 

The Friends also partner with the lower elementary schools to give students a dollar — the price of a book in the sale — to encourage families to come to the library. Borden said it is a delight to see people browsing books and baked goods.

“It is beyond a fundraising opportunity,” Borden said. “It really is a community-building opportunity.”