Friends of the BMPL

The Friends will be holding its Annual Meeting this Monday, October 18, at 7:00 pm. The meeting will be held via Zoom. If you are interested in learning more about our organization, please join us! Email friendsofthebmpl@gmail.com for more information.

The Friends of Briarcliff Manor Public Library are excited to share the news that we surpassed our goal of selling 250 bookplates for Library Giving Day! This fundraiser was a tremendous success and it would not have been possible without the generous support of our community. YOU made it happen! Thank you for supporting the Briarcliff Manor Public Library. If you dedicated a bookplate, look for an email in mid-May letting you know the title of the book in which your bookplate was placed.

In support of Library Giving Day, the Friends of the Briarcliff Manor Public Library are asking our neighbors to dedicate 250 bookplates by April 7. Will you be one of them?

Your bookplate will be added to the inside front of one of our curated collection of children’s books and will remain in circulation for one year. It’s easy to do online! Just go to https://bmplfriends.org/bookplate/ and don’t forget to include your dedication names in the “Write a note” section of the payment page.

Our Friends Annual Meeting will be held via Zoom on Thursday, October 22 at 7 pm. Interested in learning more about our organization and want to attend? Email Janet Bashford at janetbashford@gmail.com for the Zoom link.

Dear Neighbor,

The Friends of the Briarcliff Manor Public Library, Inc. would like to wish you and your family a happy and healthy holiday season and a very Happy New Year.

Our magnificent Library and Community Center has become the neighborhood hub where everyone can enjoy print and electronic material, view their neighbors’ artwork, stimulate their minds with discussions and lectures, and of course, find books to read.   

Here are a few highlights of the outstanding programs and services our library offers:

 

• The popular museum passes can now be checked out by anyone living in the 10510 zip code. Why don’t you check them out and take advantage of the free admission to MOMA, the Intrepid Air and Space Museum, Stone Barns and other destinations.

• Traveling? You may have noticed that the travel books have moved to a more spacious corner location. Thanks to the Friends, we’ve been able to expand on this popular section to offer more new editions and additional regions. 

• The community also enjoys special offerings close to home. Novices and dancers alike squared off in May for a square dance with popular Caller Sandy, in the pavilion. This fall we went back to the 1950s for a Doo Wop show with performer Joey Gee, whose music earned a gold record.

• The library hosts a different art exhibit each month, giving local artists a place to exhibit and library patrons beautiful art to enjoy.

• For 2018, Briarcliff Manor Public Library was the second lowest of the Westchester Libraries in operating expenses for each hour open. That is a tribute to all the support we get from the community.

• Our children and teens Battle of the Books teams continue to amaze us — one team won first place this year and the other made it almost to the end of this county-wide reading competition!

 

As you can imagine, it takes a lot of resources to have the Library remain a jewel in our community — resources that aren’t fully covered by the Library’s budget. The Friends provide extra resources for the Library through our fundraising efforts such as this yearly appeal. Your help is essential to further enhance the beauty of our building, to help fund the purchase of new books and materials, and to keep offering fabulous programs for our community.

We hope you consider making a donation to the Friends. Your donation is tax-deductible, and can be doubled if your employer has a matching program. Donations can be made online at https://bmplfriends.org/donate/, or checks can be mailed to Friends of the Briarcliff Manor Public Library,  P. O. Box   205, Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510.

Sincerely,
The Friends of the Briarcliff Manor Public Library, Inc. Board
Janet Bashford, President; Doreen Goldstein, Treasurer; Sara Siegel, Secretary; Mary Dale Allen, Deborah Barlow;  Alison Flynn; Rain Henderson; Dara Mirsky; Karen Rigney; Debbie Silberman; and Nannette Wasserman 

Our 2019 Annual Meeting will be held Wednesday, November 6, at 7 pm. All are welcome to learn more about the Friends organization. Please join us at the Library!

Dear Neighbor,

The Friends of the Briarcliff Manor Public Library, Inc., would like to wish you and your family a happy and healthy holiday season and a very Happy New Year.

Our magnificent Library and Community Center has become the neighborhood hub where everyone can enjoy print and electronic material, view their neighbors’ artwork, stimulate their minds with discussions and lectures, and of course, find books to read.

Here are a few highlights of the outstanding programs and services our library offers:

The Library now offers FREE MUSEUM PASSES to 7 museums including MOMA and The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.
Our Battle of the Books teams continued their tradition of being a force to be reckoned with! One of our teams came in 2nd place in the county.
We provide the same number of teen programs that libraries serving populations twice the size of Briarcliff offer! The participation of our community’s teens is exemplary.

Four more museum passes were added in April, in response to community requests. In the first six months, passes to MoMA and the Intrepid have saved residents at least $2,488 in adult admission costs. In all, 97 Library cardholders borrowed museum passes between April and October 2018. The average cost for an adult admission is $17.

Battle of the Books, an annual county-wide library competition for children and teens, took place on October 20. Briarcliff sent two teams, one of 4th to 6th graders and another of 7th to 10th graders, one of only 14 libraries that sent two teams. While one of the teams placed 2nd, what is exciting is that a regular participant who had aged out requested the book list so he could continue his summer tradition of reading all the books!

In 2017, the Library offered 63 programs for teens. That is the 17th highest number in the Westchester Library System for a library that is 28th for the size of the population served and 31st for operating expenses. It is comparable to libraries that serve twice the population and have three to four times the expenses. Teens plan the programs and also assist with programs for younger children. It’s is a great way for them to share their skills and help others.

As you can imagine, it takes a lot of resources to have the Library remain a jewel in our community — resources that aren’t fully covered by the Library’s budget. The Friends provide extra resources for the Library through our fundraising efforts such as this yearly appeal. Your help is essential to further enhance the beauty of our building, to help fund the purchase of new books and materials, and to keep offering fabulous programs for our community.

We hope you consider making a donation to the Friends. Your donation is tax-deductible, and can be doubled if your employer has a matching program.

You can donate online or by mail. https://bmplfriends.org/donate.html

Sincerely,

The Friends of the Briarcliff Manor Public Library, Inc. Board: Janet Bashford, President; Doreen Goldstein, Treasurer; Sara Siegel, Secretary; Deborah Barlow; Alison Flynn; Rain Henderson; Dara Mirsky; Karen Rigney; Debbie Silberman; and Nannette Wasserman

In 2006, the voters of Briarcliff Manor approved the borrowing of up to $4 million to expand the Library and create a Community Center. The Village’s plan for the new space involved a public/private partnership: public money to fund construction of the addition and provide minimal rehabilitation of the original building, and private money to furnish the Library and complete the restoration of the original building.

The Friends of the Briarcliff Manor Public Library co-founded the Friends 5K (formerly known as the Briarcliff Has Heart 5K) in 2008 to help raise the $1 million we pledged for our organization’s contribution to the expanded Library and Community Center. The Friends’ capital campaign lessened the Village’s project costs and minimized the tax burden to the Village’s taxpayers.

With the successful completion of the 2016 race and additional fundraising through the years, the Friends fulfilled its capital campaign promise and decided that the 2016 event would be the last race for our organization. 

The Friends continue to raise funds each year to supplement the Library’s programming and technology budget. To donate, go to https://bmplfriends.org/donate/

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Our annual Friends of the Briarcliff Manor Public Library will be held Tuesday, October 25, at 7 PM at the Library. Interested in volunteering? Come learn more about the organization.