THEYEARINREVIEW

The2017-2018yearwasbusyforTheFriendsofFortLauderdaleLibrary.Wecontinuedsomefavoriteactivitiesbutalsobegansomenewinitiatives.Wecoveredallcategoriesfromtheyoungestchildrentothoseofuswhoare“vintage”,fromthepublictoschoolchildrentolibrarystaff.Andwecouldn’thavedoneitwithoutyoursupport.Hereisabird’seyeviewofwhatwedid.

SPECIALEVENTSChalk-LitFestivalJanuary13,2018 Morethan32chalkartistsparticipatedinthisfirst-everfestivalmeanttokickoffthisyear’sBigReadprogram.TheycreatedbeautifulartworksbasedonliterarythemesonthenorthplazaofMain.Thelibrarywasnominatedforseveralawardsforthisprogram.

MoonlightTalesFebruary23,2018 Thisadultsongandmusiccabarethasdelightedthepublicformanyyearsandwas,asbefore,heldoutsideintheeveninginthenorthplaza.HostandlocalstorytellerCarenNeileandstorytellersJonSpelmanandLindaFordkeptthecrowdcaptivated.

RockatMainAfterHoursAugust3,2018 MainLibrarybecameanythingbutquietthisSaturdaynightasattendeesdancedtothemusicofthe70’sand80’splayedbyalocalDJ.MusicvendorsofferedvintagerecordsandCD’s.

ANNUALEVENTS

SchoolDayattheLibraryMay31,2018 Seventy-oneoftheBennettElementary5thgradersspentthedayatMainLibrary.Theygatheredonthe6thfloorwhereNASAAmbassadorTimNusbaumdeliveredaslideshowaboutthemoon.ThestudentsweredividedintosmallgroupstotourtheMoonRock,TeenStudio,HistoricalCollection,YouthServicesandCreationStation.TheyhadlunchandreceivedacopyofDr.E’sSuperStellarSolarSystemastheyboardedtheschoolbus.

VolunteerRecognitionLunchApril14,2018 ThelibraryhonorsitsvolunteerseachyearduringNationalVolunteerWeek.Librarystaffdescribedthemissionofeachdepartmentwhilethevolunteersdescribedtheirjobandsomeoftheirexperiences.Lunchandaraffleofinterestingitemsroundedouttheevent.

PROGRAMSSUPPORTEDBYFRIENDS

Thelibraryisimportantformanydifferentresourcesandservicesand,increasingly,formoreandmorepeople,itistheplaceforcultureandcompany.Chairyogaforadultsisourmostpopularprogramwhileyogafortoddlersisthemostfun.

Therewereauthorevents,MemoirWritingandAmericanSignLanguageclasses.KenKallin(recognizedbyGuinnesBookofWorldRecordsforhislargestcollectionofsignedcopies)spokeofthefunandchallengesofsuchanavocationandwecelebratedthe10thanniversaryoftheMoonRockExhibit.

BlockpartyforYouthFundsfromtheFriendshavegoneto

supporttheactivelearningcenter.

TheGreatAmericanRead

TheFriendsjoinedtherestofthecountrybyparticipatinginTheGreatAmericanRead,anactivitythatencouragedpeopletoreadandvotefortheirfavoritebook.OnOctober23,thebest-lovednovelwaschosenbytheAmericanpeople.Itwas“ToKillaMockingbird”byHarperLee.

ADVOCACY

TheFriendsalsoadvocatedforlibrary.ChairmanBeamFurrpresenteduswithaProclamationmakingApril8-14,2018NationalLibraryWeekinBrowardCounty.

Don’t miss the two great events coming soon.

• Saturday, October 27 from 2-5pm. The 4th Annual Mystery at Main written by local author Elaine Viets, need your detective work. Bring a team or just join others to collect clues, narrow down the suspects and crack the case of At Sea with a Key. Event is free.

• Friday November 16th from 7-9:30 pm. Dance After Hours at Main to music from Live Band Eclipse. $10 admission includes a drink and munchies. Must be 21.