Who is a Friend of the Library
All interested individuals who volunteer their time and/or contribute monetarily to the Friends of the Glen Lake Community Library are defined as Friends. Membership dues are not required.
Contributions the Friends Have Made or Funded
- Funded book purchases, building renovations, furnishings, equipment, landscaping, operational costs.
- Shelved books, cleaned books
- Coordinated with the Library to assemble and mail the quarterly newsletters
- Held multi-day used book sales at the Glen Arbor Township Hall. These have evolved into periodic pop-up book sales.
- Manage the sorting of used books, which are sold on special shelves in the library as well as on consignment through a local used book company.
- Organized and managed a biennial Home Tour through 2022
- Substantial monetary contributions by the Friends include a a large contribution to the most recent building remodel followed by a full-building backup generator and its maintenance so the library can stay open during power outages.
- All funds raised by the Friends are used to benefit the Library.
Upcoming Friends Events
- February 10, 2025: Annual Meeting at 10:15am in the Program Room of the GLCL
- TBD: Pop-Up Book Sale
- April 6 – April12, 2025: National Library Week
Be a Friend of the Library
Volunteer: Call or visit the library to apply Contribute books: Donate your used books, recordings, puzzles snd more Make a tax-deductible donation:
Direct your donation to the Friends of the Glen Lake Community Library.
Donations can be made at the Library or mailed to PO Box 325, Empire MI 449630
The Friends are a 501(c)(3) charitable organization
History of the Friends of the Glen Lake Community Library
The Friends of the Glen Lake Community Library have been instrumental in the growth and development of our wonderful library. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Friends raise funds and coordinate volunteer efforts solely to support the Library.
The Glen Lake Community Library was legally established on April 30, 1977, and opened in a small rented space in Empire on June 1, 1977. From their founding in that same year, the Friends group has supported the library by funding a myriad of needs, such as book purchases, building renovations, furnishings, equipment, landscaping and operational costs. In the Library’s early years with limited hours and one part-time paid staff, Friends members volunteered as needed in running the Library, assisting with such things as desk duty, shelving, book selection, cleaning, funding and operating the video collection, offering evening lecture series, and creating the Library’s early newsletters (which are printed and mailed through Friends’ funding to this day).
Initially and through approximately 1993, annual drives to collect Friends’ membership dues were key to fundraising efforts for the Library. These labor- intensive annual membership drives were replaced by periodic dues and donation solicitations via the newsletters. Eventually, the requirement of annual dues payments to be a “Friend” was abandoned in favor of a more inclusive definition of “Friend” as all persons who support the library monetarily or by volunteering their time.
In addition to encouraging donations and volunteerism, the Friends have created or participated in other major fundraisers throughout the Library’s existence. The Friends held large annual used book sales for many years, which have now become a series of Friends’ pop-up sales throughout the year, in addition to continual used book sales within the Library building. The first home tour was held in 1980 and continued to be a popular and successful fund raiser every other year through 2022.
Early on, the Friends began to set aside funds earmarked for capital improvements, from which we provided monetary support to building fund drives and renovation expenses in 1982-83, 1987, and 1997, culminating in 2020 with a donation of $100,000 for the major building expansion and remodeling of the Library we are so proud of today. The Friends subsequently funded the purchase and maintenance of a large back-up generator so the Library can remain open during power outages.
In addition to the Friends’ many fundraisers, we are grateful to the community, which has always donated generously to the Friends, knowing that all such financial donations will be used to benefit the Library.
