Focus on Friends - Friends of North Regional/BCC Library

Shortly after North Regional/BCC Library opened in 1994, a vital new Friends group was organized, with more than 200 members for years thereafter.

This active group sponsors two ongoing projects - an award-winning Friends Tutoring Program for elementary school children and the Friends' Fancy Gift Shop. The Friends also serve an advocacy role, as they did in helping promote the Broward County 1999 Library Bond Issue, and they help support library programs and staff development through their fund raising activities.

The goal of the Friends of the Library Tutoring Program is to improve reading and math skills of elementary school children. The tutors, who range in age from high school students to senior citizens, emphasize the use of library materials during the sessions. The success of this program led to a 2004 Acts of Caring Award from the National Association of Counties.

The Friends' Fancy Gift Shop, which opened in 1995, is staffed with volunteers who sell small gifts, greeting cards, snacks and bottled water.

In the role of library advocates, the Friends send staff to professional conferences, work with the Broward Legislative Delegation, send community leaders to Library Day in Tallahassee and contact state legislators.

Special events hosted by the Friends group include volunteer and staff recognition programs, and an annual open house for the public to celebrate the library's anniversary.

In 2002, the group purchased a new baby grand piano for the library auditorium, allowing for high-quality music programs for all ages. Other activities supported by the Friends include the summer-long Florida Library Youth Program and a monthly Friends Program Series.

At the 2005 Friends of the Library Luncheon and Awards, the group won an award for "Support of Enhanced Learning for Youth."

For more information about the Friends North Regional/BCC Library, call 954-201-2606.

Opportunities for involvement in Friends groups exist at most Broward County Library branches. For information about other Friends groups, contact the Friends of the Broward County Library at 954-357-7771.


Remember: Good Friends make Great Libraries!