Welcome to the Manchester Community Website!

Friends of the Manchester Library

Mission Statement 
The mission of the Friends of the Manchester Library is to promote literacy and lifelong learning throughout the Manchester area.  We achieve this mission by raising funds which are applied to operating, maintaining, and improving the building which houses the Manchester Library as well as supporting programs for all ages; these programs will include early reading, teen use of the Library, after-school access and encouragement for students, adult education, and cultural events.

Function of the Friends
The Friends of the Manchester Library is a group of volunteers who provide the source of funding for the Library facilities. Our library is special in that the Kitsap Regional Library system provides the Librarians and the books, but our community provides the land (actually, we rent it from the Port of Manchester for $1/year), facilities, utilities, maintenance, etc. Without the Friends, our Library wouldn't exist, and fundraising is the name of the game!!!
We're always looking for new members or even those who just want to attend one of our meetings to see how the group operates. See below for our regular meeting dates.

Meeting Dates for the Friends
These meetings are normally the fourth Wednesday of the month (except for November and December, and these are held on the third Wednesday of the month. Meetings start at 7:00PM in the Louise Pedersen meeting room in the Library. For more information, visit the Kitsap Regional Library's Manchester Branch web listing).

Friends Officers                   click here for bios   

President	Ron Rada	term expires  12/31/2012
Vice President	George Herbison	term expires  12/31/2012
Secretary	Carol Campbell	term expires  12/31/2012
Treasurer	John Winslow	term expires  12/31/2012
Director	Gigi Weixler	term expires  12/31/2012
Director	Eric Cisney	term expires  12/31/2013
Director	Bill Lounsbery	term expires  12/31/2014

All officers' positions are for a term of one year, except the Directors, with three-year terms for continuity, as noted above. If you would like more information on the Friends, feel free to contact any of the officers above, or e-mail the secretary at the address noted. We also can be contacted via our PO Box 128 in Manchester 98353-0128.

Fundraising -- It's what we do to keep our Library open!
As noted above, we must continually fundraise to keep our great little Library operating! We're always looking for new, "painless" ways to raise funds to support the operation of the Library and provide special Library events for the community. 

Perhaps our best known means of fund raising is our daily (every day the Library is open) book sale in the north wing of the Library. We have thousands of used books available on an honor-payment system. Prices are noted either on the book itself or per the payment schedule posted in the bookstore.  Other regular fundraising activities include rental of the meeting room (see below for more detail), the popular "Penny Jar" at the Manchester Inn, donations, and bequeaths.

Finally, we have several special fundraising events each year. The annual Father's Day Salmon Bake is a great fundraiser and in addition a great community-building event. This traditional Manchester event has continued for over 35 years! Also, each year we have several special book sales where the most special books are held-back and only offered for sale at these special sales. Prices are slightly higher than the normal book sale, but the books are TREASURES!! Our spring book sale, (third Saturday of April) is also held in conjunction with a plant and garden sale, thanks to the great leadership of Norma Brady.

We're always looking for new ideas for fundraising, so if you have a brainstorm, be sure to share it with us.

Please visit our pages on what you can do to help, the FOML Endowment Fund and our donors & volunteers.
 
Attention: Federal Employees
FOML is a member agency in the Combined Federal Campaign.
To designate FOML for your payroll contributions, use # 75235.

Friends Bylaws
Click here to read the Bylaws

Want to Contact us?
US mail: Manchester Library Friends, PO Box 128, Manchester, WA 98353
Email: Friends contact John Winslow - johnwinslo@aol.com
Library phone: 360-871-3921