Friends of the Moses Lake Library

An organization that supports the work of the librarians in the Moses Lake Public Library . It supports the MLPLFoundation at the website mlplf.org.

Moses Lake Friends of the Library
A Short History

The Friends of the Library group in Moses Lake was incorporated in 1975 to support the staff of the public library with their volunteer time and money. In the early years, the members met together to discuss books as well as to plan what projects they would volunteer for and raise money to support. 1975 is also the year Skip Munson became head librarian, a post she held until 2004. The organization with her help began planning and hosting the first of many Halloween parties for children using the library, and, indeed, as the years went by, the organization became best known for its support of all the children’s programs. In some tight budget years, it provided the only support for the Summer Reading Program. The original signers of incorporation were Laura Young, Nancy Wolff, Libbie Peterson, and Joan Stern. Other early members included Martha McGough, Margaret Jensen, Dorothy Braunwart, Denise Schmidt, Sandy Ferry, Mary Lou Schenk, Geneva Barclay, Glenna Bingham, and Genevive Visker. The first annual book sale took place on December 6th, 1980 with Dorothy Braunwart as Chair. Another popular fund raiser was a raffle for a donated silver carafe. In 1981, concern over the possibility of the library leaving the Regional Library System to which it had belonged since 1960, prompted a large donation from the Friends to the “Citizens to Save the Library”, a committee formed out of concern that the city council in a tight budget year would withdraw the city from the library system as a money saving venture.
By 1983, the librarian was discussing with the Friends the need for a computer for library patrons and , more importantly, for library staff to be trained to use it. This was a precursor to the huge changes electronics would bring to the library system and the Moses Lake Library. Everyone would begin feeling the pressure of the new technologies, the need for more space and new wiring.
In 1986, Friends of the Library planned and hosted the thirtieth anniversary of the library, which had begun when the Women’s Club of Moses Lake donated 1,200 books to the first library, 900 of which became the core of the collection.
In 1995, the Friends of the Library purchased the bronze sculpture entitled “The Rise” from the artist, Michael Holmes, as a memorial to Beryl Larsen, one of the founders of the early Moses Lake Library. The artist wrote that he would donate the profits from sale of copies of the sculpture to the Moses Lake Public Library and that the piece would become part of the library’s permanent collection. It can be viewed in the main room of the library.
The group, which was twenty years old in 1995, had become involved in supporting the library in many ways: helping Summer Reading Programs and National library Week, buying needed furniture and equipment-including a copy machine for public use, donating to literacy programs, inviting visiting artists and writers, and many other activities. Over the years, the Friends contributed glass display cases, furniture, library tables, shelving, and even supported in 1999 buying new flooring for the entire library and urging the city to provide better parking for patrons. Other items, like books in large print, audio books, and books in Spanish and Russian were becoming part of the crowded library collection, many purchased by the Friends of the Library or the result of donations to Friends of the Library.
When Skip Munson retired in 2004, she had been involved in the Moses Lake Library in some capacity from its beginning as part of the Women’s Club in 1956, nearly fifty years. The Friends provided a farewell for her that included a lifetime of friends, relatives, and patrons who came to wish her well. At the same time that she retired, the Regional Library System data bases and card catalogues were becoming computerized.
Constance Kuhlmann became the new librarian in the midst of the turnover and immediately began adding new books and electronic media and rejuvenating programs for children and adults. The Friends welcomed her and also began suggesting new activities, one of which, the Dictionary Project, was led by Philomena Lund, a member of Friends of the Library and Kiwanis. The activity combined the resources of both organizations to put a paperback dictionary in the hands of every third grader in the Moses Lake School District. It became a popular project that the school district, third graders, and the two organizations look forward to every year.
Also By 2004, it was clearly apparent that the population that used the library was increasing very rapidly and that something needed to be done to meet its needs. In 2006, a New Library Committee, also spearheaded by Friends of the Library members such as Philomena Lund and Glenna Bingham, began meeting and researching what could be done to alleviate the overcrowding and out of date infrastructure of the library. Since 2006, The Friends of the Library has supplied members’ time and the money earned from selling donated books in bi-monthly book sales and other donations to provide support for the Moses Lake Public Library Foundation, which was formed from the New Library Committee, becoming its largest donor.

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