All Nebraska public libraries are members of United for Libraries through the Statewide Group Membership purchased by the Nebraska Library Commission. The Commission provides this membership to ensure that public library staff members, Friends, Trustees, and Foundations can take advantage of United for Libraries’ services to enhance fundraising, advocacy, and public awareness.

United for Libraries’ monthly virtual series, Learning Live, will continue with “Celebrating National Friends of Libraries Week” on Tuesday, Sept. 14, at 1 p.m. Central / 2 p.m. Eastern. The Learning Live program is presented free to United for Libraries group and Statewide members. Register here.

Featured presenters will include Jonathan Haupt, executive director at Pat Conroy Literary Center in Beaufort, South Carolina, and Marlena White, president of the Friends of South Carolina Libraries (FOSCL).

Learn about the history of National Friends of Libraries Week and ideas for celebrating, including the upcoming “I Was Born to Be in a Library” Virtual Tour & Discussion led by the Pat Conroy Literary Center in partnership with Friends of South Carolina Libraries (FOSCL). United for Libraries staff will provide resources, tips, and ideas for National Friends of Libraries Week.

The Pat Conroy Literary Center is a registered United for Libraries Literary Landmark.

Jonathan Haupt is the executive director of the nonprofit Conroy Center and the former director of the University of South Carolina Press. He is co-editor with Nicole Seitz of the anthology Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy, the recipient of 17 book awards. He is the host of the Live from the Pat Conroy Literary Center podcast on the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network and an associate producer of the TELLY Award-winning ETV author interview program “By the River.” In 2020, Haupt was recognized with the Doug Marlette Literacy Leadership Award presented by Pulpwood Queens, the largest book club in the U.S.

Marlena White has more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit management. She was the Director of the Friends of the Lexington Main Library in Lexington, South Carolina for 15 years and now serves as the Financial Services Manager for a nonprofit management firm in Columbia, South Carolina. Marlena is a graduate of several leadership programs and was the 2019 recipient of the United for Libraries/ThriftBooks grant to attend the ALA Conference in Washington, D.C. She has volunteered with the Friends of South Carolina Libraries since 2016 and currently serves as their Board President. 

The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center is South Carolina’s first affiliate of the American Writers Museum and second American Library Association Literary Landmark. Through its interpretive center, year-round educational programs, and annual literary festival, the Conroy Center preserves and continues the literary legacy of Pat Conroy (1945–2016) as a teacher, mentor, advocate, and friend to readers and writers alike. To learn more about the Conroy Center, please visit in person at 601 Bladen St., Beaufort, South Carolina, or online at www.patconroyliterarycenter.org.

The Friends of South Carolina Libraries is a statewide volunteer-run nonprofit organization created in the late 1980’s to help foster, create, and support local Friends of the Library groups, and to provide networking opportunities for these groups to work together for the support of library services throughout the State of South Carolina. FOSCL hosts both in-person and virtual education and advocacy programs (including an annual conference), and also offers grants and recognition awards in support of Friends of the Libraries across the Palmetto State. Learn more about FOSCL at www.foscl.org.

United for Libraries Learning Live sessions take place on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Each month’s session will cover a hot topic of interest to Trustees, Friends and/or Foundations, followed by a Q&A and/or discussions. Sessions are open to all personal and group members of United for Libraries.

United for Libraries: The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations, is a division of the American Library Association with approximately 4,000 personal and group members representing hundreds of thousands of library supporters. United for Libraries supports those who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries, and brings together library trustees, advocates, friends, and foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.ala.org/united/ or call 312-280-2160.

All Nebraska public libraries are members of United for Libraries through the Statewide Group Membership purchased by the Nebraska Library Commission. The Commission provides this membership to ensure that public library staff members, Friends, Trustees, and Foundations can take advantage of United for Libraries’ services to enhance fundraising, advocacy, and public awareness.

United for Libraries’ monthly virtual series, Learning Live, will continue with “Gift Acceptance Policies Part 2: Advice from the Pros for Writing Your Policy” at 2 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, July 27. The Learning Live program is presented free to United for Libraries group and Statewide members.

This session is a follow-up to June’s Learning Live, “Gift Acceptance Policies I: When ‘Free’ Isn’t Free.” Featured presenters will include Alan T. Shuckrow, shareholder at Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky, and Clare D. Membiela, library law consultant at Library of Michigan.

United for Libraries members can register for this session, and for access to the recording of Part 1, at https://airtable.com/shrNWC0KRwvDL5Zv8

Find out how to craft or revise your library or group’s gift acceptance policy and legal considerations associated with such policies. Participants will learn how to ensure they are prepared for navigating how to handle proposed gifts and donations. The presenters will conduct a Q&A session, so bring your questions on this topic.

Alan T. Shuckrow is a shareholder at the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania law firm Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky (“SMGG”). From 2014-2019, he served as SMGG’s president and managing shareholder and currently serves on the Executive Committee as the firm’s counsel. His experience ranges from municipal and education law to civil litigation and real estate. His clients include non-profit and for-profit organizations and governmental entities. SMGG represents the two largest libraries in the Greater Pittsburgh area.

As the library law consultant at the Library of Michigan, Clare Membiela helps public libraries understand and manage legal issues that impact library services. Before joining the Library of Michigan in 2016, Membiela was the associate director for library and instructional support for the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Libraries. Before moving to Michigan, she worked at the University of Miami Law Library as the head of reference services. Prior to her academic library work, she worked for two major law firms as a librarian in its Miami offices. She has an MLS. from Southern Connecticut State University, a JD from the University of Miami, and 30 years of law library experience. She is excited about helping public libraries by connecting them to the legal information they need.

United for Libraries Learning Live sessions take place on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Each month’s session will cover a hot topic of interest to Trustees, Friends and/or Foundations, followed by a Q&A and/or discussions. Sessions are open to all personal and group members of United for Libraries.

United for Libraries: The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations, is a division of the American Library Association with approximately 4,000 personal and group members representing hundreds of thousands of library supporters. United for Libraries supports those who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries, and brings together library trustees, advocates, friends, and foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.ala.org/united/ or call 312-280-2160.

All Nebraska public libraries are members of United for Libraries through the Statewide Group Membership purchased by the Nebraska Library Commission. The Commission provides this membership to ensure that public library staff members, Friends, Trustees, and Foundations can take advantage of United for Libraries’ services to enhance fundraising, advocacy, and public awareness.

United for Libraries’ monthly virtual series, Learning Live, will continue with “Gift Acceptance Policies Part 1: When “Free” Isn’t Free” at 11 a.m. Central on Tuesday, June 29. Featured presenters will include Charity Tyler, executive director at Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Public Library Foundation, and Clare D. Membiela, library law consultant at Library of Michigan. 

United members should register for the session at https://airtable.com/shrNWC0KRwvDL5Zv8

When it comes to donations to the library, free isn’t always “free.” Find out how to craft or revise your library or group’s gift acceptance policy. Participants will learn how to ensure they are prepared for navigating how to handle proposed gifts and donations. The presenters will conduct a Q&A session, so bring your questions on this topic.

Charity Tyler is the 2021-2022 president of United for Libraries. She has been executive director of the Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation since 2015. For the foundation, she has created policies and improved governance structures to support fundraising on behalf of the Cedar Rapids Public Library, and to support Foundation-funded programs including Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. For United for Libraries, she has led the Programming Committee and Governance Task Force.

As the library law consultant at the Library of Michigan, Clare Membiela helps public libraries understand and manage legal issues that impact library services. Before joining the Library of Michigan in 2016, she was the associate director for library and instructional support for the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Libraries. Before moving to Michigan, she worked at the University of Miami Law Library as the head of reference services. Prior to her academic library work, she worked for two major law firms as a librarian in their Miami offices. She has an MLS. from Southern Connecticut State University, a JD from the University of Miami, and 30 years of law library experience. She is excited about helping public libraries by connecting them to the legal information they need.

United for Libraries Learning Live sessions take place on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Each month’s session will cover a hot topic of interest to Trustees, Friends and/or Foundations, followed by a Q&A and/or discussions. Sessions are open to all personal and group members of United for Libraries.

United for Libraries: The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations, is a division of the American Library Association with approximately 4,000 personal and group members representing hundreds of thousands of library supporters. United for Libraries supports those who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries, and brings together library trustees, advocates, friends, and foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.ala.org/united/ or call 312-280-2160.

All Nebraska public libraries are members of United for Libraries through the Statewide Group Membership purchased by the Nebraska Library Commission. The Commission provides this membership to ensure that public library staff members, Friends, Trustees, and Foundations can take advantage of United for Libraries’ services to enhance fundraising, advocacy, and public awareness.

United for Libraries’ monthly virtual series, Learning Live, will continue with “Friends of the Library & the Future of Booksales: Chapter 2” on Tuesday, May 25, 2 p.m. Eastern. The Learning Live program is presented free to United for Libraries group and Statewide members and the recording will be available to members.

Featured presenters will include Terry Plumb, president of the Friends of York County (S.C.) Library, and Karen Jacowitz, president of the Friends of the Moorhead (Minn.) Library.

Friends group leaders will speak to how each of their Friends groups have adapted their booksales models during the past year, including obstacles they’ve overcome and strategies and ideas they recommend – from online to in-person sales. Each presenter will offer insight and answer questions from attendees.

Terry Plumb is in his second year as president of the Friends of York County (S.C.) Library. A native of Florida, Plumb retired in 2007 after a 40-year career as a journalist, including serving as editor of three daily papers, most recently The Herald of Rock Hill, S.C. (1987-2007). He is a certified Master Gardener, past president of the Master Gardeners of York County and past chair of the Summer Reading Coalition, a joint effort by the York County Library and the Rock Hill School District to promote summer-time reading by elementary school children. Terry is the proud steward of the first Little Free Library to be registered in York County, S.C. There are now upwards of 60 in the county.

Karen Jacowitz is president of the Friends of the Moorhead Library in northwest Minnesota. The Moorhead Public Library, which serves approximately 48,000 residents, is the largest branch in Minnesota’s Lake Agassiz Regional Library system. For more than a decade, Karen has been co-director of the organization’s book sales, including coordinating the efforts of volunteers for each sale. Prior to being elected president of the Friends of the Moorhead Library, Karen served as vice president. She has a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a master’s and doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.

Register for “Friends of the Library & the Future of Booksales: Chapter 2.”

United for Libraries Learning Live sessions take place on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Each month’s session will cover a hot topic of interest to Trustees, Friends and/or Foundations, followed by a Q&A and/or discussions. Sessions are open to all personal and group members of United for Libraries.

United for Libraries: The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations, is a division of the American Library Association with approximately 4,000 personal and group members representing hundreds of thousands of library supporters. United for Libraries supports those who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries, and brings together library trustees, advocates, friends, and foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.ala.org/united/ or call 312-280-2160.

All Nebraska public libraries are members of United for Libraries through the Statewide Group Membership purchased by the Nebraska Library Commission. The Commission provides this membership to ensure that public library staff members, Friends, Trustees, and Foundations can take advantage of United for Libraries’ services to enhance fundraising, advocacy, and public awareness.

United for Libraries’ monthly virtual series, Learning Live, will continue with “Ask the Experts: Boards of Trustees, Friends Groups, and Foundations” on Tuesday, April 27th at 2 p.m. Eastern. The Learning Live program is presented free to United for Libraries group and statewide members.

A panel of experts, including San Francisco Public Library Executive Director Marie Ciepiela, Library of Michigan Library Law Consultant Clare Membiela, Friends of the Montgomery County Library (Md.) Executive Director Ari Brooks, and Kent District Library (Mich.) Board of Trustees Chair Shirley Bruursema will address common issues that arise among Library Boards, Friends Groups, and Foundations, and how to solve them. Panelists will present two in-depth scenarios, provide tips and best practices, and answer questions from attendees.

During a “lightning round” session, speakers will field questions from registrants. Submit a question in the registration form.

Due to time limitations, not all questions will be answered live. Attendees will receive a list of suggested resources for the presented in-depth scenarios, and the types of questions submitted with this registration form.

Marie Ciepiela has served as the Executive Director of the San Francisco Public Library since 2016, leading the private, community-based side of a partnership for excellence with the public library. Since arriving in San Francisco in 1990, she has served as an executive leader of three nonprofit organizations, including the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco; the OMIE (Oceanview, Merced, Ingleside, Excelsior) Beacon Center; and the Youth Service Bureaus, the mental health department of the YMCA of San Francisco. She holds a California Teaching credential, a Master’s degree from the University of California at Davis, and a Bachelor’s degree in history from Harvard University.

Clare Membiela serves as the Library Law Consultant at the Library of Michigan, helping public libraries understand and manage legal issues that impact library services. Before joining the Library of Michigan in 2016, Clare was the Associate Director for Library and Instructional Support for the WMU Cooley Law School Libraries. She has an M.L.S. from Southern Connecticut State University, a J.D. from the University of Miami, and 30 years of law library experience.

Ari Z. Brooks is Executive Director of the Friends of the Montgomery County Library in Maryland. An experienced fundraiser and nonprofit manager, she has held leadership positions in three not-for-profit organizations for twenty-five years in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Ms. Brooks earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of the 2004 Class of Leadership Montgomery and the inaugural 2009 recipient of the Emerging Leader Award for the County Executive’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities.

Shirley Bruursema is chair of the Kent District Library Board of Trustees in Michigan. She was the recipient of the ALA Trustee Citation in 2009. Bruursema has been a delegate for the White House Conference on Libraries. She was treasurer and co-chair of millage campaigns that continued the Kent District Library’s service to 26 communities and 18 libraries. Bruursema has been dubbed the “Millage Queen” for her work coaching libraries through millage campaigns, helping with efforts to pass more than 80 millage elections since 2000.

To register for “Ask the Experts: Boards of Trustees, Friends Groups, and Foundations,” click here.

United for Libraries Learning Live sessions take place on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Each month’s session will cover a hot topic of interest to Trustees, Friends and/or Foundations, followed by a Q&A and/or discussions. Sessions are open to all personal and group members of United for Libraries.

United for Libraries: The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations, is a division of the American Library Association with approximately 4,000 personal and group members representing hundreds of thousands of library supporters. United for Libraries supports those who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries, and brings together library trustees, advocates, friends, and foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.ala.org/united/ or call 312-280-2160.