Join Launceston Friends: Support Your Public Library Today!

Friends of the Library, Launceston Inc. is a community group supporting and promoting public library services at Launceston Library. Since 1992 Friends have organised events, lobbied for public libraries, helped as volunteers, and raised funds for library services. The Friends group has been recognised with Tasmanian government awards and, in conjunction with Launceston Library in 2007, the national Peter McInnes Award for services for children and young people. The Tasmanian Community Fund awarded the Friends a grant of $16,000 in 2005 to initiate the Launceston Family Album project which resulted in the creation of a popular website, a year-long newspaper series and the publication of two books and a CD.

Activities

Library Book Sale: Friends’ main annual fundraiser, features a great range of fiction, non-fiction, children’s books and audio-visual materials: thousands of items donated by members of the community and sold at bargain prices. The Book Fair is usually held in March on a Saturday morning. Details are available on the Friends’ Facebook page

Launceston Family Album: a 2006-2011 community project identifying season ticket holders to the Tasmanian International Exhibition of 1891-92, resulted in the publication of an archival volume, a 320-page hard cover book The Tasmanian Exhibition 1891-92, a CD and the Launceston Family Album website.

Local history publications:

The Journals of Charlotte Cleveland by Gill Morris. $20
A fortune may be made… Launceston’s 19th Century Breweries by Jai Paterson. $20
The Outcome of Enterprise: Launceston’s Waverley Woolen Mills. By Julian Burgess. $25
and, with Launceston Library, On the Tide Nos. 1,2 & 3

All books available from Launceston Library and Tasmanian booksellers.

Support for children’s services: purchasing Launceston Library and Ravenswood Library, books, toys and instruments for Rock & Rhyme, and funding workshops, visiting speakers and performers.

Organising and participating: regularly in Library-related events.

Volunteering: with research in local history, home library service deliveries, helping with displays, exhibitions and events, helping organise and digitise records.

Membership of the Friends

Membership is open to any person in the community who wishes to support library services at the Launceston Library. The cost is $10 annually, or $15 for family membership (more than one at the same address). Make cheques payable to: Friends of the Library, Launceston. Online payment is also available.
If you’d like to support library services in Launceston, consider becoming a Friend to assist us with:

Raising funds at the Book Sale
Attend Friends social functions and Library-based events
Collaborate in publishing local history books
Work with the community to enhance our library services
Participate in volunteer activities such as digitising historic records and photographs
Advocate on behalf of public libraries.

As a Friend of the Library, Launceston you can be involved in these activities, or you can show support by becoming a subscribing member. Ask us for a membership brochure.

Meeting of the Friends

Meetings open to all members are held on the last Thursday of every month at 3.30pm in the Phil Leonard Room on the Second Floor of the Launceston Library.