About 40 people gathered at Great River Regional Library (GRRL) headquarters in St. Cloud last Thursday to talk about their libraries.
It was the second Friends Meet Friends event - an opportunity for Friends of the Library members from each branch to sit down and discuss projects and goals to support their library.
The turnout included Friends representatives from Annandale, Big Lake, Cold Spring, Cokato, Clearwater, Delano, St. Cloud, St. Michael, Little Falls, Melrose, Rockford, Waite Park, Royalton and Kimball.
A year ago, the event featured guest speaker Sue Hall, Director of Library Strategies Consulting Group, who talked about fundraising strategies, marketing, recruitment, donations and special events different groups could consider.
Last week’s event was more about the Friends giving their input in round-table discussions.
The evening kicked off with a some food, refreshments and music by Angie Hoeft of Clearwater, who appropriately, sang songs about friends and the river.
Then it was time for the discussions, and GRRL Communications & Development Specialist Abby Faulkner explained the interactive portion of the program. Unlike a year ago, when Friends groups sat with their own members, this time they were split up.
“We wanted to start conversations about what works, what doesn’t, and what you want to see Friends become,” said Faulkner. “We thought the best way to accomplish that is to split you up and have you sit with people you’ve never talked to.”
Each round table group’s task was to get input on three main topics:
1. Discuss a successful fundraiser other than a book sale your group has held. What made it succeed?
2. How does your group go about recruiting new members? What, if anything makes recruitment difficult?
3. How do you organize and execute a successful book sale?
Those discussions lasted about 40 minutes. Faulkner said at the end of the evening, all the notes would be collected, compiled and sent back to each group via e-mail.
“So everybody will get a look at everyone’s ideas,” she said.
That information can be used by each group to be more successful with fundraising and recruitment.
