By: Danielle Incognito

The Friends of Kinnelon Public Library recently celebrated their 40th Anniversary.  Founded in 1979, it had been created as an all-volunteer, non-profit organization which helped focus attention on the library as a way to promote it, its resources, and its services to people of all ages in its community. 

The mission of the organization is to foster education, culture, and information in the community.  Its goal is to also raise money for the library, along with its many programs. On its website, it reinforces that support from the public makes a difference.  The Library’s Board of Trustees and the Borough of Kinnelon supplement the funding of the program.  

The program boasts members who have always believed that the library was significant and had immense value for almost thirty years. They are extremely grateful for the financial support and volunteer services which enabled the program to be a success.  The group contributes about $70,000 in all its fundraising efforts. 

One such effort is the yearly used book sale it hosts, and it sometimes takes nearly eight months to organize. Two years ago, it had raised $18,000, and the money helped to improve what the library had to offer.  One coordinator, David Wilding, called the profits “huge” in 2017. Profits have been boosted by the addition of vinyls, CDs, and DVDs over the past few years as well.

All this money raised could not be possible without the efforts of the dozens of volunteers who showed up to sort through thousands of books that were donated to the cause.

The Kinnelon Library group shared on its site that, “It is not only used by Kinnelon residents, but also by hundreds of non-Kinnelon residents who take advantage of the benefits from the many programs provided through the Center for Lifelong Learning (CLL), as well as its cultural activities and many other services.”

Students have become an integral part of its services and focus.  More than 400 non-Kinnelon students from over 30 surrounding areas have participated in their programs. 

The program stated, “The strength of the Friends of Kinnelon Library is in our members, whose belief in the Library’s importance prompts them to support the library, both financially and as volunteers.”

On their website the Friends of Kinnelon Library also acknowledge, “It takes money to have a library.  The financial support of the Friends and CLL is vital to ensure that the library continues to flourish and expand its resources and provide the facilities to meet the needs of the 3,900 households in Kinnelon, and to run programs like the CLL that are open to all.”

The group encourages new members and volunteers on their website.  One way that the group encourages donations is by asking people to shop at Amazon.  They can donate directly to the cause by going to Amazon Smile and select “The Friends of Kinnelon Library” as the organization they want AmazonSmile to donate 0.5% of the purchase to.  Best of all, it doesn’t cost anything for the person donating.

The Friends of the Kinnelon Library are looking forward to another 40 years helping Kinnelon Public Library be the best it can be.