2026 United for Libraries Virtual - Friends of the Library Day

A National Model of Access: Learning from National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) and Friends of the Library Partnerships

Juliette Appold, Head, NLS Music Section, Library of Congress; John Owen, Director, Maryland State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled; Melissa Riccobono, President, Friends of the Maryland Library for the Blind and Print Disabled, and Mark Santangelo, Chief, Patron and Network Engagement Division, National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS), Library of Congress

At a time when libraries are called upon to demonstrate impact, expand access, and serve diverse communities, partnerships matter more than ever. The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) offers a powerful, federally funded model that local libraries and their Friends groups can leverage to significantly broaden services at no cost to their institutions or patrons. This session introduces a practical toolkit for Trustees, Friends, and Advocates to strengthen their library’s reach by connecting with NLS resources, including hundreds of thousands of accessible books, instructional materials, and music scores for people who are blind, low vision, or print disabled.

Through real-world examples, this panel will demonstrate how these partnerships translate into expanded services, stronger advocacy, and measurable community impact. Participants will leave with concrete strategies to expand library services beyond local budget limits, strengthen advocacy narratives with measurable impact, and build meaningful partnerships that reach underserved populations.

Collaborative Leadership: Building More Agile and Resilient Friends Organizations

Kathleen O’Connell Renaud, President & CEO, Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association (FOPLA)

Friends organizations play a vital role in strengthening libraries—raising essential funds, building community connections, and championing the library’s mission. But sustaining that impact requires organizations that are adaptable, resilient, and able to engage volunteers in meaningful ways. Traditional leadership structures can unintentionally limit participation when roles become oversized, outdated, or disconnected from decision-making. Silos and limited communication between teams can further constrain innovation and make it harder to respond to changing volunteer expectations.

Drawing on an ongoing transformation within a large Friends association, this session explores how a shift toward collaborative leadership has unlocked new energy, ideas, and opportunities. By empowering volunteers to help shape roles, teams, and ways of working, the organization has created more flexible structures, greater transparency, and stronger alignment around strategy and goals. The results have been striking: increased volunteer engagement, a richer flow of ideas, stronger community connections, and growing revenues. Participants will learn how distributing leadership and encouraging co-creation can help Friends organizations become more nimble, innovative, and resilient—while creating more rewarding and impactful volunteer experiences.

Successful Online Sales for Friends of the Library Fundraising

Diane Tuccillo, Author, The Library Friends and Foundations Handbook, and Board Member, Knox County (TN) Friends of the Library

Beyond traditional book sales, some FOLs have discovered that online selling can be as, or way more, financially productive. However, many groups are reluctant to try this new way of making money for their libraries because they can't imagine where to begin. This session is designed to encourage the design and development of online selling for FOLs with guidelines for set up, running, and evaluating such fundraising endeavors in several sales formats. Find out how you can raise more money for your library from a FOL online sales team member who will share advice, information, and inspiration with step-by-step procedures and techniques to move forward into this exciting area of fundraising.

After this session, you will be able to (1) organize an online sales team, designate its leadership, devise all policies and procedures, and create an effective training process; (2) evaluate and choose the most appropriate online sales platform for each particular organization, and (3) know and apply best practices for evaluating donated books/materials for potential sale, pricing worthwhile books/materials, and creating effective sales listings to attract potential buyers.

Supersize Your Friends Group: Fundraising, Connections, and Fun!

Marian Amodeo, Vice president, Friends of Meriden Library and Becky Starr, Member, Friends of the Meriden Public Library

2024 was a banner year for the Friends, and it has continued into 2026. The Friends raised $400,000 towards the library renovation and addition project; they added a new and innovative fundraiser- a wine, beer and spirit tasting- that raised a profit of $11,000 in three hours, and the bookstore brought in over $18,000 for the year. Also, grants from private foundations, underwritten by the Friends, brought in $50,000. In addition to our other fundraising activities, the Friends raises monies through volunteer management of one of the largest Friends of the Library sponsored used books stores in the state. Membership dues raised over $4,000 for a membership of 200+. We are proud of what we have accomplished and want to tell other Friends groups about us and how we accomplished these amazing feats by working hard and smart, making community and business connections, and having fun! 

This program will discuss how the Friends in conjunction with the Library staff, stay connected to current donors and seek out new funding opportunities. The Friends are also working in conjunction with the Library Board to set up a foundation to be managed by the Friends on behalf of the Library. The Friends of the Library is a 100% volunteer organization and with monies raised, the Friends assist the library in providing a variety of cultural and educational events as well as a variety of literacy-based programing.

If you experience any problems registering, please email united@ala.org for assistance.