Blog

Congratulations to this year’s Minnesota Book Award winners! If you missed the celebration back on May 7, you can read up on the 2024 honorees via the Star Tribune or Pioneer Press. Better yet: You can watch the archived simulcast of the live event on the YouTube channel of the host organization, The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library.
We asked – you answered! Over the past year, MALF has polled our members and webinar attendees with a simple question: What should MALF’s programming focus on next? Several issues rose to the fore, but topping that list is interest in a webinar or workshop centered around a truly classic fundraising strategy: Friends of the Library auctions. Our programming committee is now hard at work coordinating such a program...
The American Library Association is scheduled to hold its annual conference in sunny San Diego from June 27 – July 2. Every summer, this library mega-conference draws thousands of library staff, trustees, school media specialists, and fans of library work to the host city for a week chock-full of educational opportunities and a star-studded line up of keynote speakers...
If giving campaigns are something you’ve struggled with in the past – or not even begun to explore – take a look at Library Giving Day. Brainchild of the Seattle Public Library Foundation, this one-day giving “holiday” is devoted solely to library causes and coincides with National Library Week. Last year, more than 500 organizations from across the country took part!
Next month (April 3-5), thousands of library staff and leaders will congregate in Columbus, Ohio for the biennial Public Library Association (PLA) conference. PLA is often hailed as the pre-eminent professional development opportunity for the field of public librarianship. While the conference is open to supporters like Friends, in-person participation is cost prohibitive for most volunteers. Fortunately for us, virtual tickets are also on offer!