Volumes of energy for books

Heart of qathet: BEYOND BOOK SALES: Music, friends, art and books are some of the things Brownie Brown has collected over 19 years of volunteering with FOTL.

The qathet Friends of the Library love libraries, especially ours! With book sales and unique events we help fund collection purchases, programs and projects that support the Powell River Public Library and make our city vibrant, well-informed and welcoming.

Brownie Brown has been a Friend of the Library for 19 years.

How and when did you start working with the Friends of the Library?

Brownie • The Friends were a very keen bunch of people who had massive book sales out in the old library parking lot. There’d be lots of volunteers and they wore these little carpentry tool aprons with Friends of the Library embroidered on them, it was hard to resist their energy, so I joined in 2004.

What part of the work is the most satisfying?

Brownie • There are two satisfying parts of being a Friend. One is matching the right book with the right person, and the thrill of the exchange—someone slapping a book down saying ‘that was a good read!’ The second part is seeing the library turn the money you made selling that book into fantastic things: a puppet theatre, cool technology kits, language programs, disc-readers for visually impaired, etc. and oh yes, new books. In the past few years we’ve raised almost $200,000 for the library!

What part of the work do you find the most challenging?

Brownie • A big challenge for Friends is not being able to recycle books. They wear out, get musty or simply out of date. Whatever we can’t sell, we do our best to distribute usefully. This year we hope to focus on what you can do with a book after you’ve read it. Any ideas, we’d love to hear them.

What do you wish other people knew about the work the FOTL does?

Brownie • Being part of the Friends is inspiring. We’ve done lots of things to raise money besides sell books— sanded chairs for Art Chair Auctions, organized art shows for our 8”x8;” we have been graced with song and music, it’s all a learning experience. You meet all kinds of people; the world is on your doorstep and you end up reading books you never thought you’d crack open.

Do you bring any unique skills to this organization?

Brownie • The only skill you need to volunteer for the Friends of the Library is willingness to try something new and like talking with people.

What would you say to other people who might be thinking about volunteering?

Brownie • Taking part in our library programs or looking at libraries around the world, you realize how exciting libraries are! They can be the heart of a community. A place where all ages are free to explore stories, drawing, new skills, music, games, movies, tool sharing, you name it! Some library in the world is doing it somewhere—maybe in a spectacular building or from the back of a truck, a boat, even a donkey!

And becoming a Friend of the Library says it all, doesn’t it?