FRIENDS AS FUND RAISERS: I Available to Purchase

Friends groups are excellent, continuing resources for librarians looking at fund‐raising options. According to a recent ALA survey of public libraries (Non‐Tax Sources of Revenue for Public Libraries, ALA Survey Report, Mary Jo Lynch, project director, 1988) friends groups accounted for 33.8% of all receipts from fund raising and financial development, making them the second largest category of financial support, after individuals, who led the list with 51.7%. According to a 1986 survey by Friends of Libraries USA (FOL‐USA), nearly 600,000 citizens raised a total of $27.2 million in 1985 in support of their libraries. These impressive statistics underline the significant role friends groups play in the financial support of public libraries. (The role of academic libraries friends groups and other types of friends groups will be discussed in a future column.)