Blount County Friends of the Library members work together to sponsor special events, raise money, and volunteer for a variety of outreach and service programs that help our library and our community. Currently, we have 850 members, including 175 volunteers who donated 16,000 hours over the past year.
The Friends’ fund raising efforts and membership dues provide substantial financial aid to the Library for programs, equipment and logistics not available through County budgeting or Library Foundation capital improvement funding.
From the Annual Report 2017/18
Accomplishments
- Updated sales model
- Updated Strategic Plan; Marketing Plan in progress
- Cloud storage to protect documents
- New signage and logo
- Collected statistics on the Used Book Sale
- Documented procedures and processes
- Improved communication
New Revenue Streams
- Author signings
- Better World Books
- Alcoa Kiwanis Appraisal Fair
- East Tennessee History Center Book Sale
- Foothills Voices
- Book Sales in the Bookmark Café
- Pop-Up Book Sales
Friends are welcome to attend our Tuesday Round Table on improving the Book Sale process at 10:15 a.m. at the Library.
Community Outreach
Many volunteers help with our community outreach programs, and we are always looking for new volunteers to help!
BCFOL Volunteers provide support to the following programs and more:
- Ex Libris – Community outreach program for local nursing homes
- Books for Soldiers – Packages for our troops overseas
- Books for the Homebound – Outreach program
- Food Connection – Outreach program
- Books for Justice Center facility residents
- Little Free Libraries – Keeping them stocked
Income and Expenditures
Where does the money come from?
2017–2018
Where does the money go?
2017–2018
Event Highlights
Selected Library Programs and Special Events Sponsored by Friends of the Library
- Hot Summer Nights Concert Series
- The Friends donate refreshments and provide volunteers to help with this popular series of August summer musical performances.
- Shakespeare on the Lawn
- BCFOL provides volunteers and financial assistance to help with productions from the Knoxville Shakespeare Stage Company. A much-anticipated July annual event, now moved indoors to the cool air-conditioned library.
- Summer Reading Programs for children, young adults, and adults
- BCFOL provides books, craft supplies, and many other items for both ongoing and Summer reading programs for all ages.
- Mini-Con
- Comic Convention and Cosplay event for all ages in May.
- Southern Appalachian Studies
- Series of lectures and programs on regional history
- Foothills Voices Project
- This 9-month course, taught by professional authors and librarians, takes amateur writers through the steps necessary to research, write, and publish a piece of creative non-fiction based on true stories of Southern Appalachia. The 2017 Project produced the book, Foothills Voices: Echoes of Southern Appalachia.
- ARCONIC Foundation Global Internship Program
- Paid internship program for young adults (18-26) interested in manufacturing careers. Sponsored by: Institute of International Education, Blount Partnership, Blount County Public Library and Blount County Friends of the Library. Nov. 1 through December 21, 2018.
