Notes from Friends: May 2025
Happy Spring! The Friends of SADL are gearing up for our Garden Sale and Free Plant Exchange Saturday, May 31 and we need your help! During spring clean-up of your garage, shed, and yard, please set aside extra pots, garden tools you no longer need, yard art, anything that others may want for their garden this spring. Bring donated items, including plants, to the Shelby Library May 27 – May 31 for our Garden Sale and Free Plant Exchange. If you have extra seedlings, please share! This annual community event is a great way to recycle your old garden supplies, talk to other gardeners, share tips, and pick up some new plants to refresh your yard.
This garden event begins at 8:30 and ends at 11:00 am. Come early for best selection! Several beautiful Garden Themed baskets are also on display in the library this month for silent auction. Final Bids will be taken on May 31 at the close of the sale.
At our quarterly meeting April 10, the Friends of SADL approved funding for landscaping clean- up service, additional seeds to resupply our Seed library, and spring craft kits for children. Have you checked out seeds from our Seed Library? Stop by and view the display in the library and select some free vegetable, herb, or flower seeds. We plan to offer this community event next year too! Thank you, Amanda Mazur for your work to keep our Seed Library stocked!
The Friends of Michigan Libraries (FOML) held their annual membership meeting April 11 at the Library of Michigan in Lansing, conducting business that included the election of officers and board members, followed by guest speaker Cordelia Anderson who spoke about how Friends support Michigan libraries. Attendees also heard presentations from the Friends of Hamburg Twp. Library and Pentwater Twp. Library who received monetary awards from FOML. I currently sit on the FOML board, serving as Social Media Director primarily managing their Facebook page, and have committee responsibilities related to membership and the new website. As a group, our Friends of SADL are also members of FOML. Probably the best part of the day was spent meeting other friends from libraries all over Michigan, sharing fundraising ideas, talking about challenges, how to advocate for our libraries, and discussing ways to serve our communities. More information about FOML can be found on their website, foml.org.
–Cindy McKinnon
President, Friends of Shelby Area District Library