As we enter National Friends of Libraries Week — Oct. 20-26 — we celebrate our Friends of the Library North! The North Jefferson County Library District would like to recognize and thank the Friends of the Library North for their two-plus decades of vital support.
Long ago (in 2000), a group of library lovers created a volunteer-run library in Clancy. They founded the Friends of the Library North — created a space, gathered books, books-on-tape (cassettes!), movies (VHS tapes!), and successfully operated a volunteer library until it was incorporated into the Jefferson County Library System in 2004.
After handing off the library they created, the Friends of the Library North continue to work alongside and support the Clancy Library and then later the Montana City Library. The Friends help with special projects — we remember fondly when shifts of volunteers in 2015 moved the entire Clancy Library twice in two weeks so the floor could be replaced — and fundraise to help enhance library services like the Summer Reading Program.
The most recent iteration of those fundraisers is the Book Seller. The Friends of the Library North had always held book sales, but in 2013 Concetta Eckel, Jeanne Koehne, and Chris Wethern created the Book Cellar in the basement of Clancy’s Old Red Schoolhouse. The Book Cellar was so successful that it evolved (and moved upstairs) through the generous support of a donor who wished to remain anonymous and the efforts of Jennifer Davis, Nancy Scusa, and Cheryl Vukasin. The Book Seller is now run by Cheryl Vemich and Joy Williams.
This remarkable group of library lovers’ latest projects include this year $750 for the Summer Reading Program and last year’s $2,000 donation to support North Jefferson County Library District’s digital library services (HOOPLA), which delivers ebooks and downloadable audiobooks and streams movies and documentaries over the internet. Though the technology has changed, the passion remains the same.
We’ve always known how special our Friends were — they are just an outstanding group that has accomplished so much for our libraries and the communities they serve. The love and passion the Friends of Library hold shines brightly, and our community has benefited greatly from the support of the Friends.To recognize their work, the North Jefferson County Library Board has created two plaques that will hang in both the Clancy and Montana City Libraries. And we, the North Jefferson County Libraries, celebrate our Friends! Thank you to the Friends of the Library North!
