Friends of Gates Public Library: History and Achievements, 1986-1999

[1962?- 1970: the original Friends group for Gates Public Library had been responsible for all adult programming in the former library rented quarters. They had played an important role in promoting the need for a new library facility in 1966-1967. After the library moved into their present quarters in the new Gates Community Center in January 1969, much momentum for the Friends seemed lost. Unable to redefine their role to fit new circumstances, the original Gates Friends disbanded when the present Library Director was on maternity leave in early 1971. The loss of this support group haunted the Director who envisioned restarting the Friends even then.]

1986:

Gates Public Library celebrated its 25th anniversary in January with a town wide mailing and open house. As a part of mailing, the Director solicited for volunteers to help restart the Friends.
Board President Don Allis invited those from town who volunteered to help restart Friends to an organizational meeting in May 1986.
June 11, 1986, Library Board Trustee Barbara Minor called the 1st organizational meeting for the Friends together. Of the 24 in attendance, 10 Gates residents agreed to serve on the Steering Committee of the new Friends. Former MCLS Trustee, Ogden Town Supervisor and local businessman, A. Ross Kitt II agreed to chair the Steering Committee. The new Steering Committee set a schedule of activities to be achieved over the summer.
Summer 1986: bylaws written, membership and book sale committees set up, and publicity planned for the fall.
October 22, 1986 Steering Committee held 1st General Friends meeting. 14 attended this 1st meeting. 25 Gates residents had joined the Friends ($10 membership dues) as of this date already. Margaret Dunlay was elected President and other officers were also elected. The new Friends Board then took over from the Steering Committee.
November 12, 1986: Friends Board approved the Book Sale Agreement between the Library Board and the Friends, authorizing the Friends to sell library discards and used book donations as best benefits the library. Sam Palma, former Library Trustee, agreed to chair the Book Sale Committee as he has done for the entire history of the Friends, faithfully sorting discards and used gift books to the library every Friday morning year around. The Friends hold a minimum of three book sales a year: Spring, Summer and Fall.

1987

2nd Annual Meeting of the Friends held May 13, 1987: Judge Michael Telesca, speaker. 34 people present out of 49 paid members. Total for 1st Friends Book Sale receipts: $1635. Margaret Dunlay reelected President.
Friends represented in Town Annual Parade, June 28
1st Friends Newsletter: Sept. 1987
September 23, 1987: Junior Friends group planning begins to replace previous teen volunteer group, called Kids Club

1988

May 19, 1988: Joan Rubin, YA Librarian, starts up the Junior Friends, with 5 in attendance. Junior Friends envisioned as a group of teen volunteers between the ages of 11-18 to help the library and to work with the Friends.
Spring 1988: Friends order their first tote bags to promote Friends and to raise funds.
May 11, 1988: 3rd Annual Meeting of Friends with Harold Hacker, Past Director of Rochester Public Library as the annual speaker. Members of the Junior Friends presented a skit to the Friends membership. Membership of Friends at 37; Margaret Dunlay reelected President of the Friends for a 3rd year. She presented a check for $2500 to the Library Board President Stephen Ferguson, raised from book sales.
June 1988: Friends participated in 175th Anniversary of the Town of Gates Parade.
October 1988: Friends pay $2836.62 for the refurbishing of the library meeting room, including new draperies.
November 9, 1988: membership reduced from $10 a year to $5 a year. Present membership at 51.

1989

1988 - 9: Friends provided a delegate from Friends Board to Library Building Needs Assessment Committee
February 1989: Friends purchase Junior Friends t-shirts with Junior Friends design to wear for library and community events
May 10, 1989: 4th Annual Meeting of Friends, with Mary Jo Smith, Children’s Librarian, Gates Public Library as speaker. Junior Friends also presented a program. 59 members; 14 in attendance. Nancy Atherton Attardo elected President. Departing Friends President Margaret Dunlay presented a check for $3000 to Library Board President Stephen Ferguson.
Fall 1989: Friends began participating in the new Friends Council, held twice a year to gather representatives from all Monroe County Friends groups together. These meetings important for information sharing among Friends’ groups.

1990

January 26, 1990: Friends held a Winter Social with 25 of membership in attendance.
February 1990: Friends President Nancy Attardo began writing a welcoming letter to new Gates residents about the Friends. Note: this Friends’ practice was written up in American Libraries’ July-Aug. 1992 Action Exchange column. [The Library now welcomes new residents and includes information about the Gates Friends in the mailing.]
February 1990: Nancy Attardo suggested putting old magazines donated to the Friends in the Town Hall Blood Drive with a book mark stating ‘magazine donated courtesy of the Friends of Gates Public Library’. [Director’s note: initially very well received by Blood Bank staff, the Friends have not continued this outreach effort.]
May 9, 1990: 4th Annual Meeting of the Friends. Of 67 Friends members, 24 were in attendance. Nancy Attardo was reelected President and presented a check of $2842.13 to the Library Board President Russ Grasso. Speakers were Alice and Dent Harris of the Friends.
July 11, 1990: Friends sponsor a hole in the upcoming Gates-Chili Chamber of Commerce golf tournament because the Chamber will divide the receipts over the two libraries in Gates and Chili. [Note: Gates Public Library received $700 as a result of golf tournament.}
Fall 1990: membership drive for Friends used a hallway display with Polaroid pictures of selected Friends and a quote from each one on ‘Why I feel great about being a Friend.’
Fall 1990: with additional visibility and community contacts, Friends membership passed the 100 mark to 111. With stability of the new group of Friends assured, the Friends Board made plans to seek tax exempt status as a 501(c)3 organization under IRS rules.
November 1990: Friends opted to omit Winter Social in favor of assisting library with 30th anniversary celebration in January 1991.

1991

January 1991: the Friends assist with the 30th anniversary of the library.
May 8, 1991: 5th Annual Meeting of Friends held with A. Ross Kitt II as speaker. Of 118 members, 27 were in attendance. Outgoing President Nancy Attardo presented a check for $2908.00 to Library Board President Susanne McMurray. Kathryn Heintz was elected the 3rd President of the Gates Friends.
June 12, 1991: paperwork for the Friends’ incorporation under NYS law and IRS 501(c)3 application submitted, thanks to Town Attorney John DiCaro, serving pro bono. Also at this meeting, due to audit pressure to make Friends annual booksale revenue contribution a part of the library’s operating budget, the Friends and the Library Board agreed to have the Friends hold the money so raised and to expend it only upon written request of the Director followed by a vote from the Library Board Liaison to the Friends and Friends Board President, based on feedback from the Friends Board. The original book sale agreement between the Library Board and the Friends was modified accordingly. Friends again sponsored a 2nd hole for local chamber golf tournament; another $700 received by library.
December 11, 1991: Friends officially acknowledged as incorporated under NYS law; Friends Fund Development Committee off and running with many plans, under Library Board Liaison Phyllis Pittman’s leadership. Goal: a general purpose endowment fund of $50,000 which would not be touched until it reached that amount and thereafter only the annual interest would be expended annually for library purposes.

1992

February 12, 1992: Fund Development Committee planning dinner/card party in April at Brooklea; Wendy’s coupons to benefit Friends Endowment Fund and a business solicitation campaign for Gates business donations
May 13, 1992: 6th annual general membership meeting with D& C columnist Peter Taub as speaker. Of 136 members, 35 were in attendance. Margaret Dunlay will return as Friends President. The Friends raised over $4000 for the library over the past year.
Sept. 1992: At the request of the Friends Board, the Library Director began providing the Friends with a bimonthly report on library activities for the Friends meetings.
November 11, 1992: the Friends donated $7000 raised via book sales to library for construction of the drive up window. By the end of the year, Friends membership had risen to 157.

1993

March 24, 1993: plans for developing a Friends cookbook through a combined staff - Friends committee, chaired by Patty Uttaro began.
May 12, 1993: 7th annual meeting of the Friends general membership. Of 123 members, (several purged due to non-renewal of membership), there were 45 present to hear Carol Ritter from the D & C speak. Lori Bronco and Kathryn Heintz agreed to act as Co-Presidents for the Friends.
July 1993: Friends assisted with Ribbon Cutting ceremony for new drive up window, the 1st such library window in New York State.
November 9, 1993: Friends began underwriting as of 1994 the costs of all library programs. Cookbook plans moving along, with 200 recipes received.
November 1993: holiday auction to benefit Endowment fund held and raised $1293. Due to poor turnout and less revenue than anticipated, the Fund Development Committee decided against another holiday auction.

1994

March 9, 1994: 171 members of whom 84 were new in 1993. Cookbook Committee ready to go with printing 1000 books; cookbook to have a literary theme and will be titled ‘Literally Delicious.’
May 7, 1994: 8th Annual Meeting of Friends Membership, with Judge David Egan as the speaker. Of 171 members, 35 were in attendance. Lori Bronco and Kathryn Heintz agreed to serve as Co-Presidents again. The cookbook will be ready for sale by fall 1994.
September 14, 1994: Friends have officially been granted 501(c)3 status by IRS; Town Attorney John DiCaro granted lifetime membership in Friends for his pro bono work.
November 1994: Friends agreed to contribute $1000 for library programs in 1995

1995

March 1995: cook book finished [Note: cookbooks never raised money for Friends or library and barely broke even from the original printing costs, but it was a notable Friends achievement, which brought the Friends some national recognition in cookbook contests.]
Conducted three book sales (March, July, and October), raising $4196.15 over year.
May 4, 1995: Friends took over management of public copier, with 50% of profits coming back to library and 50% going to the Friends’ Endowment Fund. This has been a good arrangement for both the library and the Friends, with the Friends coming in every 3 weeks to count the copier revenue; Friends order paper and pay copier bills. Staff keep copier supplied with paper and call in service calls.
May 10, 1995: 9th Annual Meeting of Friends Membership, with Bob Lonsberry, local celebrity as a speaker. 47 in attendance out of membership. Gail Solomon will serve as 5th President of the Friends.
Fall: planning on Gates historical coloring book began
November, 1995: Friends agreed to contribute $1250 for library programs in 1995.

1996

February 14, 1996: 156 members of Friends
March 6, 1996: Friends Board member Pam Brady appointed to Library Board. Pam was the first Friends Board member to be chosen for the Library Board, though former trustees [Sam Palma, Gail Solomon] served on the Friends board after their tenure with the Library Board was completed.
May 8, 1996: 10th Annual Meeting of Friends Membership, with Channel 13 newscaster, Ginny Ryan, as a speaker. 44 in attendance out of membership. Joan Bawden and Kay Feraios agreed to serve as 6th/7th Co-Presidents of the Friends. Lifetime membership given to former Library Trustee, Phyllis Pittman, for her work on Friends Endowment Fund.
November 13, 1996: Friends agreed to provide $1250 for library programs; $860 to get the Books for Babies program begun, and $3650 for a TapeChek video cleaning machine from book sale revenue.
Gates historical coloring book, titled "Gates, a Colorful History" developed with local students' art work, as a fundraiser for the Friends' endowment fund.
Friends donated the funding from book sale revenues to supply the library with two diaper decks for both public bathrooms. ($538)
Friends donated the funding from book sale revenues to add to the library's Ellison dies for sign and display construction. ($1272)
Produced three newsletters for membership, with extra copies for library patrons, plus an annual fiscal report in the May issue
Continued to sell Friends' cookbook, Literally Delicious, and Friends' tote bags to promote Gates Friends' presence.

1997

February 12, 1997: Friends featured in Cornerstone, the Town Newsletter; some new Friends members result from town wide mailing.
April 9, 1997: Junior Friends membership up to 38.
May 14, 1997: 11th Annual Meeting of Friends Membership, with Kathy Schaefer (Romance author Kathryn Shay) as speaker.
No June meeting, for lack of a quorum. No President in place until September 1997.
September 9, 1997: Mahala Ruppel and Bill Hiebler elected 8th/9th Co-Presidents with Friends Board meetings alternating between Tuesday and Wednesday nights to accommodate new presidents. Total of 161 members.
November 12, 1997: in a surprise gesture, the Friends voted $10,000 from book sale revenue to present to Library Board to keep the library open on Thursday and Friday mornings (and summer Saturdays if possible) in 1998. Much positive publicity resulted from Friends generous gesture. Leadership for motion from Gail Solomon. [Friends also donated $950 for the 1st half of 1998 programs.]

1998

February 21 & 28, 1998: Friends President Bill Hiebler repainted library office as a volunteer, thereby saving the library an estimated $1900. Friends donated the cost of the paint, which Bill arranged to buy at vendor cost.
April 8, 1998: Friends cross the 200 mark in membership with 206 total.
May 13, 1998: 12th Annual Meeting of Friends Membership, with BOA publisher, Steven Huff, as speaker. # in attendance out of 206 membership. Bill Hiebler agreed to serve as President for a 2nd year. 10 years of Junior Friends service celebrated at this meeting, with a framed certificate of appreciation being presented by the Town Supervisor.]
June 16, 1998: thanks to the Friends’ 501(c)3 status, the Friends sent a request to Davenport Hatch Foundation which resulted in $6564 in private foundation funding. This additional funding meant the library had 100% outside funding for the construction of a unisex handicapped bathroom!
June 9, 1998: the Friends agreed to buy a 3rd PAC table and 2 additional PCS for the public to use with the new computer system. Total cost: $1325 for table and $2198 for PCS; also balance of $950 for 1998 library programs donated to the library.
July 8, 1998: two Friends Board members plus Tom Bober, Vice-President, Friends meet for the 1st time with the Library Board Budget Committee to discuss the creation of a Gates Public Library Foundation, to raise amounts of money over $10,000 on behalf of the library with the Friends raising amounts under that amount. Other meetings planned. [Note: this is 1st time that Friends and Library Board members have met together for a possible shared venture.]
September 5 & 7, 1998: Friends President Bill Hiebler paints the new handicapped bathroom and revamped storage closet for the library, saving the library $400 from construction costs.
September 18, 1998: the Friends of Gates Public Library recognized as a nominee by a large audience at the 7th Annual Rochester Area Community Foundation Philanthropy Awards for the Friends’ generous gift to keep the library open regular hours in 1998. Later feedback from a RACF Board member who joins Gates Friends is that Friends came very close to winning the annual prize from the Foundation!
October 1998: the Friends have saved $15,852 or 32% of their target goal for the Friends Endowment Fund in the course of 7 years! [see attached]

1999

March: Friends President Bill Hiebler paints staff bathroom and kitchen for library.
April: Friends buy scanner for use by the public on library's stand alone computer. Gates Public Library 1st library in county to offer public scanner service.
May: Jeanne Gehret, local biographer of Susan B. Anthony, is speaker at the Friends Annual meeting. 6 new Board members added to the Friends Board and 4 retired from the Friends Board. Presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Sam Palma for all his work on the Friends Book Sale committee.
June: all copies of Friends cookbook sold! October: Friends began investing half of the Friends Endowment Fund for the library with a mutual fund.
November: Friends approve book sale revenue to support 2000 library programs, to start up an initial collection of Books on CD, to purchase a CD-ROM server for the library's LAN, and to provide a monthly BookPage subscription for library users.
December: Friends planned a joint event at Tinseltown's new IMAX theatre with the Chili Friends for early 2000.