We could use your help. I’m James Callan, president of the Friends & Foundation of the Camas Library. We help channel community support to the library, so it remains an enduring force for the public good.



Here's a really short summary of the rest of this email: The FFCL could use your help, as a member or volunteer. Contact me for more info. Want more details? Let's dig in.



We're not doing as well as we’d like. While the library is 100% great, the FFCL is on shaky ground, and has been for a few years. We've accomplished a lot — revised our bylaws, refreshed our logo, built a website. We've run a lot of successful book sales. We've raised some money for the library. But we'd like to do a lot more. This seems more critical than ever as the Camas Library and Fort Vancouver separate their catalogs and become more independent, and the Camas library doubles down on becoming a vital part of our community. The major problem: We need more people. Right now, most of the funds we raise over the course of a year comes from our used book sales, an annual appeal, and some grants. The Friends & Foundation funds library programs and services that aren't part of their regular budget. These include the summer reading program, book discussion groups for grown-ups and kids, Craft-O-Rama, library sleepovers, book clubs, and more. They have creative ideas to enhance the community, and we help make some of them happen. We'd like to diversify our funding sources, add some ongoing events, and be more visible in the community while doing the same for the library. We'd like to host fun events like regular trivia nights or mini-golf in the library, or just sell branded tote bags and stickers. We’d like to create real “Friends of the Library.” That opportunity hasn’t really been available in Camas for a number of years — contribute a small amount of money and get a token to display your support for our library and our community. The closest opportunity was joining the board, which is a bigger commitment. But we’re having a tough time maitaining a board that's large and stable enough to make that happen, and a volunteer pool deep enough to let us spend time on long-range planning.



Right now, our book sales are mostly coordinated by one very generous and dedicated board member, with volunteer labor and staffing — but it would be great to see more people involved, regularly, so one person is not doing everything. We could use your help. The library could use your help. FFCL could use your time, your creativity, and your help. We’d like to grow and expand, but we’ve been spending a lot of time trying to maintain a minimum viable number of members. Serving on the board is one possibility — helping chart the future of the FFCL, and through us the library. Another option is serving on a committee. The book sale committee in particular could use some logistics-minded members who want to help keep our sales running, and help us move into online sales through Amazon and take advantage of other opportunities. And regular volunteering is great — stocking bookshelves, selling books during the sales, helping set up and tear down the sales, and so on. So: If you think you could help — as a board member, as a committee member, as a volunteer, as a friend — get in touch with me. I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have. If you’d like to meet for coffee or a beer or just to chat — our treat. A healthy FFCL means a healthy library in Camas. The library is such a vital part of our community — one of the gems of our town — and we want to give them all the support they could want, and then even more support than that. Are you in? Email me: president@camaslibraryfriends.org



(You don't have to commit to anything beyond finding out more info.)



James Callan

President, FFCL



PS: In the meantime, don't forget to visit our book sale this weekend, Friday and Saturday upstairs at the Camas Library.