Free toolkit on starting a school library friends group available from United for Libraries

United for Libraries has made available a free toolkit geared toward school librarians looking to create a friends of the library group. “Friends Groups: Critical Support for School Libraries,” available at www.ala.org/united/friends, gives tips on gaining school support; raising the profile of the school library; generating excitement; establishing a friends group of parents, faculty and community members; creating a student friends group and more. “With school libraries closing across the country, it is becoming more important than ever before for school librarians to develop friends groups,” said United for Libraries Executive Director Sally Gardner Reed. “Friends have been keeping public libraries open and even staving off budget cuts for years – they can do the same for school libraries.” Also available at www.ala.org/united/friends are two additional free toolkits. “Libraries Need Friends: Starting a Friends Group or Revitalizing the One You Have” includes tips on membership, outreach, fundraising and more. “Academic Library Friends: A Toolkit for Getting Started – You Can Do This!” by Charles D. Hanson, director of Kettering Library Services, Kettering University, provides a framework for starting a Friends group at a community college or university. United for Libraries: The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations, is a division of the American Library Association that supports those who govern, promote, advocate and fundraise for libraries. United for Libraries 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 or to join United for Libraries, visit the United for Libraries website or contact Jillian Kalonick at (312) 280-2161 or jkalonick@ala.org.