Next Webinar:

'Different Roles, Shared Goals'
Ft. Sharon Griggins
 

It's not uncommon for Friends of the Library to experience friction in their working relationships with library staff - or with the boards of directors who govern our libraries. In many cases and places, awkwardness and dysfunction are rooted in confusion around the proper roles and responsibilities of the three parties. While Friends, staff and trustees all advance their library's overarching mission, each does so from their own "lane."

MALF’s next webinar will overview those lanes, as well as best practices to help ensure a healthy and sustainable working relationship. Please join us over the lunch hour (12-1 p.m. Central) on Wednesday, July 23 for Different Roles, Shared Goals.

Library support organization specialist Sharon Griggins will lead our time together. Prior to pivoting to full-time consultant work, Griggins gained a national reputation as Chief Strategy Officer for the renowned The Seattle Public Library Foundation. More recently, she has served as a coach and interventionist for library systems, Friends groups and Foundations spanning from Oregon to Pennsylvania and many points in between.

“In some ways, every library is a case unto itself,” Griggins explained. “Even within two neighboring communities, there may be meaningful differences in terms of governance structures, fundraising needs, what (volunteer support local libraries enjoy, and the key people and personalities in play.”

On the other hand, many expectations and best practices remain constant for Friends across this spectrum. Different Roles, Shared Goals will explore these commonalities and how to ensure all parties share a commitment to the library’s mission and an understanding of how the Friends fit within and advance it.   

Click here to register and submit questions for MALF’s summer webinar.

NOTE: In order to remain relevant to a broad audience, speaker intends to focus on questions and answers with broad applicability to Friends and Foundations. We will not have the time necessary to provide individualized counsel concerning specific and complex local situations.