August 26, 2025

West Grey Library says goodbye to its Friends of the Library volunteers

West Grey Library is saying goodbye to its valued Friends of the Library, as they wind up operations.

The Friends have been a powerhouse of support, in both their first iteration (registered in 1994) and in the past decade and a half (registered in 2008).

The Friends have raised money over the years through events, from fashion shows to Mugs and Muffins, but their true claim to fame has been the twice-yearly book sales. A bibliophilic juggernaut, Friends of the Library volunteers collected, sorted, moved, set up, sold, dispensed and stored tens of thousands of books over the years. The book sales will continue with volunteers and staff at the helm, with the next sale scheduled for Friday, Oct 17 and Saturday, Oct 18, at the Durham Town Hall.

The Friends’ fundraising efforts, directed to promoting and enhancing the Library and raising funds for items not available through the Library budget, has netted the Friends over $60,000 in the past 14 years through sales, grants and donations. These funds have been used to build community outreach, to digitize archival resources, add bike racks, fund puppet shows and provide items for writing awards, among other activities.

The Friends decided to disband as it became more and more challenging to attract members willing to steer the ship. The West Grey Library offers them our profound gratitude for their generous, willing support and backing of the staff and Library community. "They will be deeply missed."

 

---

At South Grey News, we endeavour to bring you truthful and factual, up-to-date local community news in a quick and easy-to-digest format that’s free of political bias. We believe this service is more important today than ever before, as social media has given rise to misinformation, largely unchecked by big corporations who put profits ahead of their responsibilities.

South Grey News does not have the resources of a big corporation. We are a small, locally owned-and-operated organization. Research, analysis and physical attendance at public meetings and community events requires considerable effort. But contributions from readers and advertisers, however big or small, go a long way to helping us deliver positive, open and honest journalism for this community.

Please consider supporting South Grey News with a donation in lieu of a subscription fee and let us know that our efforts are appreciated. Thank you.