The Presidents of the Friends and Foundation will be publicly signing an agreement on July 31st, 2018. All are welcome. Foundation supporters and past and present members of the Friends are encouraged to attend.
Friends of Albany Public Library Merging with APL Foundation
Leaders to Sign MOU on July 31 at Washington Ave. Branch
ALBANY, NY — The Albany Public Library (APL) Foundation and the Friends of Albany Public Library are preparing to merge in order to create one strong network to support the work of the seven-branch library system that serves the people of Albany. The presidents of each organization will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on
Tuesday, July 31
11:45 a.m.
in the Large Auditorium of the Washington Ave. Branch
161 Washington Ave., Albany, NY
“With this merger, we’re bringing together the strengths of two organizations all to promote one cause – supporting and growing our libraries,” said Holly McKenna, president of the APL Foundation. “I’m excited to see us all work together on projects both big and small to best serve our community, because our public libraries are more important than ever.”
The Friends and Foundation began to discuss the possibility of merging about 15 months ago after APL Executive Director Scott C. Jarzombek asked the two organizations to discuss ways of working together.
“The Friends is an old and venerable organization,” said Gene Damm, president of Friends of APL. “We will continue our Tuesday book talks. Our members have shown they are flexible and can adapt to change. Hopefully, the merger with the Foundation will be a stronger organization
going forward. Everybody on our board wants to put the best interests of the library first.”
The Friends of Albany Public Library was founded 70 years ago and has been made up of community volunteers who organize book reviews and author talks, and run book sales. The APL Foundation was founded in 1998. Since 2012, the Foundation has significantly stepped up its activities to help generate financial support for the library, including hosting the annual Literary Legends gala and running an annual fundraising campaign.
The Friends of APL voted to merge with the Foundation at its annual meeting on May 9. The merger process will continue through 2018, with the intention to complete the merger by the end of the year and officially become the Friends & Foundation of Albany Public Library on Jan. 1, 2019.
Add to Calendar:
