Friends of the Hampstead Public Library
The Friends of the Library is an organization whose goal is to provide support for the library and its many activities while having fun at the same time. Memberships start at $5 and are open to anyone who has an interest in our library. Remember, all contributions are tax deductible and you can choose which level of financial commitment to make!
The second Tuesday of each month, September through May at 7 PM, the Friends sponsor an evening program that is free and open to the general public. These programs can be entertaining, informational or instructional (or all three at once). In the past, we've had impersonators, singers, authors, dancers, as well as demonstrations on cooking and flower arranging, to name just a few.
The Hollyhock Thrift Shop purpose is to help raise money. Every other December, the Friends host a Holiday House Tour (December 2012) of local residences, and November is the month for our annual auction. Funds raised from these and all other Friends' events help support the Library in various ways, such as museum passes, the summer reading program, the book discussion series and materials needed by the library that are not covered by the budget.
Friends' business meetings are held after the regularly scheduled programs at the Library. Business meetings are open to all members and are run by the Executive Board that consists of the following officers:
President: Marcia Blaine
Vice President: Ruth Paul
Treasurer: Faith Merchant
Secretary: Albert Bergeron
Other board positions include:
Program: Louise Pryor
Membership Chair: Elaine David
Holiday House Tour Chair: Jaye Dimando
REMINDERS
Do you know that the Friends of the Hampstead Public Library have a variety of gift items for sale at the library? If you're looking for a gift for some one who loves the library - any library for that matter - the Story Garden tote bag is a great item. The Hampstead Garden Club created and maintains the lovely Story Garden behind the building and the Friends chose to feature it on the heavy-duty tote bag. We also have video tapes of Don Duston's history and tour of Hampstead, Maurice Randall's History of Hampstead, New Hampshire, note cards of Sign Island in the center of town by local artist Mary Preble, and note cards of the three artist exhibit held at the library in 2006. Just ask at the front desk if you're interested in any of these items.
The Friends sponsor a Holiday House Tour every other year. If you'd like your home, decorated for the holidays, to be included in the tour, please call the library at 329-6411 and leave a message for Jaye Dimando who organizes the event for the Friends. This is one of the Friends fund raising events and the proceeds will be used to continue their work in support of the library.
If you use the library but haven't yet joined the Friends of the Hampstead Public Library, please think about doing so. It's only $5 per year for an individual membership although there are also other categories that cost more and therefore benefit the library more. Brochures with membership forms are available at the front desk of the library or download a membership form.
You can even be notified of upcoming Friends events and programs if you sign up for the library's email notification service.
If there are any problems or comments, please write to our Webmaster.
