Annual Holiday Luncheon Honors Michael Logan and Ronda Wittenberg

At last the Friends of the Redwood Libraries resumed their annual Holiday luncheon, this time in the meeting room of the Eureka Library. The food, catered by Cassaro’s Catering, was delicious.Michael Logan and Ronda Wittenberg

Michael Logan and Ronda Wittenberg were our guests of honor. Both retired in 2023. We thanked them for their service, totaling 89 years! They were each given a Life Membership in the Friends of the Redwood Libraries.

The Luncheon was followed by a fantastic performance from the McKinleyville Community Choir under the direction of Jon Reisdorf and Steve Lewis with accompanist Steven Reis. The luncheon was a great success.

Thank you to Stephanie Hillman for organizing, and Willa Mauro for decorating.

October Book Sale a Huge Success!

The October 2023 book sale raised over $4,000 for the Library. This was our largest sale to date. Our next sale is January 26th (members only) and 27th (everyone welcome). Hope to see you there!

With the hard work and dedication of the volunteers, plus the support of our members and customers, the Friends of the Redwood Libraries has been able to present to the Humboldt County Library $19,292.00 this year. This amount comes from the proceeds from the sale of books through the Serendipity Book Store, our quarterly book sales, and our internet book sales. Another contribution to this amount has come from the sales of the Children’s Art Calendar.

FRL Frances Rapin Community Service Award for 2023

James Cech presenting Martha Longshore with the Frances Rapin Community Service Award.Friends of the Redwood Libraries’ (FRL) Frances Rapin Community Service Award is granted yearly in the name of a local resident deemed to have contributed extraordinarily to the local community in support of literacy, literature, educational programs, libraries and the “Friends.” The award is a $2,000 contribution to the Humboldt County Libraries in the awardee’s name. The award winner is encouraged to offer guidance to the library in how the funds will be used.

Having no advertising budget, FRL is challenged to inform the community about its activities. Quarterly newsletters are sent out, but these go only to members. To reach the greater community FRL relies on its website to spread word of its activities including book sales, calendar sales, operating hours of Serendipity, book donation policies, and access to online sales. Given its importance, an up-to-date web presence is critical. And FRL has been extremely fortunate to have the generous support of a highly talented web master.

Martha Longshore, a published author, has assisted FRL with her expertise for numerous years. She willingly takes semi-cryptic requests and converts them to coherent news updates. She readily adjusts web page menus at the whim of the FRL board. She updates sales dates, happily removing old ones to replace with new ones as soon as requested. She keeps policy document links up to date and has efficiently worked with FRL through the myriad of changes in operations, practices, availability, and open hours through the challenges of the Covid pandemic. For these reasons, for 2023, the FRL board of directors chose Martha Longshore to receive the Frances Rapin Community Service Award.

By James Cech

2023 Annual Meeting June 24th

Mark your calendars! FRL will hold its Annual Meeting in person on June 24, 2023 at 1:30 in the downstairs meeting room of the Humboldt County main branch library in Eureka.

Join us for: election of board members, presentation of the Frances Rapin Community Service Award, insight from authors, and light refreshments.

Serendipity Bookstore Reopens!

FRL announces the reopening of Serendipity Book Store on the second floor of the library. After more than a year of closure, followed by almost of year of temporary sales downstairs on the weekend only, Serendipity is once again operating in its second floor location.

Current hours are:

Tuesday 12-4:30
Wednesday 12-7:30
Thursday 12-4:30
Friday 10-4:30
Saturday 11-3:30.

Come into the store to find some of the best donated books and media FRL has to offer. And the prices can’t be beat. Operating hours may change so check the Serendipity Bookstore page on this website for updates.

FRL Frances Rapin Community Service Award for 2022

The Friends of the Redwood Libraries Board of Directors is pleased to honor a long-time volunteer, Kay Belschner, with the 2022 Frances Rapin Community Service Award. Each year FRL honors an individual or organization that supports directly or indirectly literary activities in the community.

The board selected Ms. Belschner as a way to thank and honor her for innumerable hours dedicated to FRL efforts to support the Humboldt County Libraries. Even prior to the board’s creation of an official book sale coordinator, Ms. Belschner was the point person responsible for organizing the volunteer team that set up, carried out, and cleaned up each of the quarterly book sales. Until recently, this included two very distinct spaces at the Eureka Main Library. It meant recruiting sufficient volunteers for two different setup days, two two-day sales teams, and two cleanup teams. But there was more than just organizing the books. FRL rosters had to be procured, cash boxes in place, signage produced, posters organized, and general publicity. Volunteers assisted in all of these various tasks, Chris Cooper (L) Director of Library Services, accepts a check for $2,000 from Kay Belschner, recipient of the 2022 Frances Rapin Community Service Award. Kay and the Library Staff will decide how the money will be used. James Cech (R), President of FRL, explained how much Kay has done for the Library and the Friends, and presented her with a certificate and the check for the Library.but someone must always oversee, encourage, and make sure everything is done.

If you attended any FRL quarterly book sale during the past seven or more years, you almost assuredly saw Ms. Belschner. She would spend most of two days each sale watching the sale unfold, restocking boxes of books, fielding questions, covering for emergencies, and ensuring that everything ran as smoothly as possible. Holding sales quarterly also means uncertainty related to weather. Flexibility was critical, and Ms. Belschner was adept at adopting modifications as needed on the fly.

From the Friends of the Redwood Libraries Board of Directors perspective, Herculean efforts to keep our book sales organized and productive represent an essential community service. This is why we are thrilled to honor Kay Belschner with the 2022 Frances Rapin Community Service Award.

Serendipity Open for Business!

Finally! Serendipity has reopened in temporary quarters. Many of FRL’s best books have been placed in the downstairs meeting room. Stop in on Friday or Saturday from noon to 3. No need to wait for the next book sale to find great book bargains.

Otter Spotted at the Eureka Library!

UPDATE 9/23/21: Alice has been purchased by an anonymous donor and will remain at the Main Library location!

Two years ago, FRL sponsored an otter as part of the North Coast Otters Public Arts Initiative. “Our” otter was delivered June 16th and is now visible through the front door of the Eureka branch of the Humboldt County Library where it will be readily available for selfies, etc. once the library opens—in the near future. The otter will be displayed though September as part of a fundraising initiative for otter preservation.

108 otters have been painted by various artists in a wide array of themes. Visit the North Coast Otters Public Arts Initiative site to download the guidebook, find more information about the “treasure hunt” and the Junior Otter Spotters, or to participate in the online auction to take an otter home after the display period. Proceeds support river otters, student opportunities, and clean water habitats!

Click here to learn more about artist Rosalie Thomson’s otter, Alice.

Otter statue in Eureka Library lobby

The Humboldt County Public Library System’s New Director

The Friends would like to congratulate the library system’s recently appointed new director, Chris Cooper.

Cooper expressed his enthusiasm for the job in a post on the Humboldt County Library website:

” ‘I am enthusiastic and honored to serve the Humboldt County Library community during these unprecedented times,’ said Cooper. ‘I feel a great emotional connection to the people and place. Our library staff, Foundation, and Friends groups are passionate about their work, and committed to serving our community with increasingly diverse and vibrant programs, services, and events. Our staff has demonstrated great creativity, innovation, and flexibility as the library expands its services to the public during the pandemic.’ “

Read more at the Humboldt County Library website.

Gifts to the Library

At the end of our fiscal year 2019-2020,  FRL  contributed over $38,000 to the Library. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2020-2021, our contribution totaled $1,594.00. Until we can resume book sales, our main contribution to the Library will be from the proceeds of our 2021 calendar.