Twin Cities Teen Lit Con, the state’s premier author expo devoted wholly to YA literature, is right around the corner! Teenagers and the young at heart are all invited to Two Rivers High School in Mendota Heights for the big event on Saturday, April 29 (10 a.m. – 3p.m.). Organizers are currently looking for teachers, Friends of the Library, and other adult volunteers to help make the event run smoothly.

Over the past 7 years, we have officially recognized no fewer than 90 honorees through video montages, conference presentations, letters to local elected officials, and other coordinated efforts. Stand Up for Standout Friends is officially back for 2023. It’s likely to hold distinction as the year we celebrate our 100th award winner, and we want YOU to help add to the class.

Dollar General opened more than a dozen new Minnesota stores in 2022, on top of a similar number in 2021. Odds are - if it wasn’t before - your Library is now located within 20 miles of the nearest Dollar General. This makes you eligible for a youth literacy grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation!

Five years ago, the Seattle Public Library Foundation established Library Giving Day as a way to drum up donor interest in library causes during the oftentimes slow spring months. It is scheduled to coincide with, or be in close proximity to, National Library Week. Last year alone netted $1,600,000 across 87 reporting participants – not bad for fundraising's traditional “slow” season.

RaiseMN could be described as a fundraising bootcamp in which small- and medium-sized nonprofits receive seven months of personal coaching and peer learning opportunities.  

Every public library in Minnesota benefits from State funds earmarked for interlibrary loan service (ILL), online database access, and special programming featuring authors and educators. These are just three of a dozen ways in which state dollars impact local library service. Crucial services like these are easy to take for granted - but we do so at our own peril. With that in mind, the Minnesota Library Association maintains a standing Legislative Committee. 

If you’re subscribed to MALF newsletter, it’s safe to assume you’re a Friend of the Library. From there, it’s not much of a stretch to surmise that you’re a book-lover, too!

If you are a volunteer or staff member attached to a school library, the national nonprofit We Need Diverse Books has a time-sensitive materials opportunity just for you. Books Save Lives is a grant program allocating up to $10,000 for a school media center to purchase diverse titles to augment existing collections.

Great Stories Club’s “raison d'être” is to give underserved youth the opportunity to read, reflect, and share ideas on topics that resonate with them. Courtesy of funding support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the popular program has reached more than 700 libraries – and more than 30,000 young adults – to date.

The Minnesota Association of Library Friends is moving offices, effective February 6! Please save our new address: 332 Minnesota Street, Suite W1420, Saint Paul, MN, 55101.

Last year, MALF’s programming reached more people than ever before. We’re eager to keep pace in 2023, but can only do so with YOUR help!

Friends of the Library are resilient, versatile, and endlessly creative. Sometimes, we don’t give ourselves enough credit! That’s one of the reasons that MALF proudly hosts the annual Evy Nordley Award for Best Project by Friends of the Library – the longest-running state-level prize of this kind.