Congratulations to Friends of the Moorhead Public Library, winners of the 2025 Evy Nordley Award for ‘Best Project by Friends of the Library.’ They won top prize earlier this month for Bookmarked! A Celebration of the Arts. Bookmarked! was a fundraiser – but also so much more. It evolved from separate, Friends-led conversations with Zoltar (a tattoo parlor) and Swing Barrel (a craft brew staple in downtown Moorhead).

Thanks to the many Friends who joined MALF last weekend for Saturday Splash 2025. We matched that tremendous turnout with an equally tremendous slate of speakers. Missed out? You can now replay the full morning of programming on our YouTube channel...

On Tuesday, September 30, the Friends of the Princeton Library piloted "Friends Meet Friends," a regional networking initiative. Organizers brought together a room full of Friends volunteers from across the Great River Regional Library and East Central Regional Library systems (which between them encompass 12 counties).

ICYMI: MALF member organizations have until Friday, July 25 to submit one of their own for the 2025 cohort of Standout Friends in Minnesota. Click here for full details, including eligibility requirements and the application form. Recipient perks include a gift package with a thematic tie to MALF’s fall programming; a matted and frameable certificate; commendation letter to the mayor and county commissioner in each recipient’s hometown; and a written featurette in an upcoming MALF e-newsletter. 

As a support organization for the whole of Minnesota, MALF is privileged to regularly hear stories about volunteers across the state who go above and beyond in service to their local Friends of the Library. Most of these “Standout Friends” remain unsung heroes. In 2016, we created the Stand Up for Standout Friends program as a chance to spotlight and celebrate volunteers who go above and beyond...

MALF invites you to put your name forward for our own Board of Directors. Our all-volunteer Board hail from all around the state and represent many walks of life. Without them, our programming, grant work, and advocacy efforts would not be possible.

Lynne Young’s commitment to Northfield Public Library is unmatched – and unlikely ever to be so. In total, she helmed the well-reputed Rice County library as its director for more than 27 years. Over this period of growth for the community (and marked development in library service), Young oversaw several watershed achievements. These include the establishment of bookmobile service, kickstarting a campaign to reinvest and expand NPL’s historic building, and creation of a Foundation to augment and amplify the hard work of the local Friends of the Library.

Is your Friends group hungry to “level up” its fundraising, but unsure where to start (or how to bankroll this kind of investment in your organization)? GiveMN is currently accepting applicants for the 2025 cohort of its popular annual RaiseMN Campaign Institute.  

Friends of the Kasson Public Library - Linda Head In 2016, the City of Kasson finished construction on a new public library – a cutting-edge facility that undoubtedly makes Kasson Public Library one of the most unique in the Midwest. Built as a…

Each month, the CentraCare Birth Center in Monticello welcomes between 20 and 30 newborns. Thanks to Books for Babies, an outreach program from the Friends of the Monticello Library, every parent leaves with a generous gift of free books to start their newest addition on their early literacy journey. Two-time board member Jeanette Kallevig has stewarded this Friends program since 2021.

Last year, Michelle Saffel concluded a long tenure as office manager at Lake Community Church in Alexandria. However, as is so often the case with exemplary volunteers, “retirement” would be a bit of a misnomer. Between beloved hobbies (quilting, pickleball and gardening) she remains as active in library and community causes as ever – and in fact, probably more so.

October 20-26 26 marks National Friends of Libraries Week 2024. This annual celebration (est. 2005) is coordinated through United for Libraries, the library Friends and trustees arm of the national American Library Association. BIG NEWS: MALF is pleased to share that the Governor’s Office has also - for the first time - officially designated October 20-26 as Friends of Libraries Week in Minnesota!