By SEAN P. MURPHY
Whether it’s to borrow a best-selling book, attend a lecture or musical performance, or learning to fix your broken bike, there’s something for everyone at the Thomas Crane Public Library, says Jennifer Sammons, president of the library’s volunteer support group.
“The Quincy library system has been supporting and enriching the lives of residents for almost a century and a half,” says Sammons, who is in her second two-year term as president of the Friends of the Thomas Crane Public Library, the nonprofit organization that raises funds and promotes a wide spectrum of educational and cultural events.
“Our mission is to fundraise and advocate for the library so that it may continue in that tradition while adapting to the needs and wants of present-day residents,” she says.
The Friends funds more than 700 programs serving more than 16,000 library users annually.
One of the organization’s mainstays is the Friends Bookstore, which sells gently-used books, audiobooks, DVDs and CDs in a well-stocked space in the atrium of the main branch. Open five days a week and staffed completely by volunteers, the bookstore raises tens of thousands of dollars a year, and pays for, among other things, passes for free admission to about 20 museums, zoos, and cultural institutions, classical music and other concerts, and library programming for teens and children.
“I want to make sure we’re the best possible stewards of the bookstore proceeds and Friends donations,” says Sammons, who is also the Communications Manager for Quincy nonprofit Interfaith Social Services. “Our volunteers have spent countless hours sorting book donations, working in the bookstore, and serving on the board in service of the library. This past year we raised a record amount of funds and were able to fund a tremendous number of programs.”
Friends volunteers also maintain several of the beautiful gardens on the three-acre library site, which includes the historic Richardson Building, designed by H.H. Richardson, one of America’s most influential architects, in the heart of Quincy Center. The Friends also support programming efforts at the North Quincy, Adams Shore and Wollaston library branches.
Among its most recent funding projects, the Friends purchased a book bike, allowing the staff to use pedal power to bring books directly to the community. The group also supports the library’s archives, special projects and literacy programs.
Sammons says Quincy is a vibrant and diverse city of more than 100,000 and that its library should reflect the community. She’s constantly on the look-out for new ventures and volunteers.
“We welcome everyone to become a ‘Friend of the Library’ and show their support for these vital community spaces,” Sammons says.
Make a donation or learn more about the Friends at tcplquincy.org/friends.