Nonprofit helps local library, puts on book sales, and gives back to the community
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IDAHO FALLS — At the Idaho Falls Public Library, near the koi pond and elevator, lies a space with thousands of books sold for as low as 25 cents to $3.
It’s in the basement and designated for a nonprofit called Friends of the Library of Idaho Falls, or “Friends.” It’s “dedicated to establishing closer relations between the Idaho Falls Public Library and the community, to promoting library services, and to improving library programs,” according to its website.
“It is an amazing organization to be a part of, because you get to do something in your community to help your community,” said Audra Loftus, president of Friends of the Library of Idaho Falls. “We’d like to make reading available to everyone.”
Book sales
There are about five two-day book sales held throughout the year on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It includes a discount sale or a book bundle sale. Sets and bundles cost between $5 and $20. Below are the current dates for upcoming sales:
- May 1 to May 2
- July 31 to Aug. 1
- Oct. 16 to Oct. 17
- Dec. 4 to Dec. 5
“We sell books, audiobooks, children’s books, Blu-rays, and DVDs. We sell CDs, vinyl records, and magazines. Sometimes games and video games, but everything is dependent on the donations that have been made,” Loftus said.
What to donate
Donations of new or used books, audiobooks, DVDs/Blu-rays, CDs, vinyl records, games/video games, and magazines are welcome. There is a donation table on the first floor of the library right by the book drop area. Click here to learn more.
“We go through books that have been donated, we make sure that they’re still in sellable condition. We sort through them, and we shelve them,” Loftus explained.
How Friends helps the community
Book sales by Friends raise money to help the library fund program prizes, materials, library staff appreciation events, and more.
Friends is made up of volunteers. There’s a president, a vice president, a secretary, and a treasurer, along with over 80 members. Members spend their time sorting books, shelving, cleaning, and working on projects or events.
Friends also donates books to causes throughout the community.
“I know that recently we’ve been able to donate some of our own books. You can see the difference that it makes,” Loftus said.
Those causes include Little Free Libraries, which is a 24/7 book exchange, and the Soup Kitchen, which provides free hot lunches to those in need.
The history of Friends
Friends of the Library of Idaho Falls dates back to the 1960s. It has been running for over 58 years.
“I was able to get into the historical records at the museum archive,” Loftus said. “The first meeting to organize the Friends group here happened in December of 1967, at Hawthorne Elementary, then known as Hawthorne School. There was a push for a bigger library, but it was being lost over the arguments for its location.”
There was a library in Idaho Falls that opened in 1916, called the Carnegie Library, on Elm and Eastern Streets, according to historical records. It is now part of the Museum of Idaho.
“There were starting to be too many people, I guess, to house all of the books and the space needed. So they started looking into a new area for a bigger library to be built,” Loftus said.
Friends was established to help pass around petitions for a new library building, she said. After the new library was completed in 1977 on Broadway Street, Friends turned its efforts to helping the library’s resources and programs, Loftus wrote in a newsletter.
Today, Friends of the Library of Idaho Falls supports the Idaho Falls Public Library through fundraising, volunteering, and advocacy.
Idaho is home to over 35 Friends groups, with Bonneville County alone having three, including Friends of the Library of Idaho Falls, Friends of the Iona Library, and Friends Assisting Bonneville Libraries, Loftus added.
Volunteering
Loftus initially started volunteering at the Idaho Falls Public Library to get out of the house a little bit. She is a stay-at-home mom.
“I actually started volunteering because I felt like it was something that I could do to just have some me time while helping the community, and honestly, I love to organize. That actually fit in really well,” she said.
She stumbled across a Friends of the Library of Idaho Falls meeting and wanted to see what it was all about.
“I kind of crashed their meeting by accident because I had so many questions that I kept sticking my hand up like a little school kid,” she laughed. “I just had so many questions about what was happening, and that kind of just reeled me in.”
She’s been a part of Friends since 2019 and loves it.
The group holds public meetings for anyone interested in learning what Friends of the Library specifically does. They are held on the following Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.:
- April 22
- July 22
- Oc. 7
- Dec. 2
If you’d like to become a volunteer or follow Friends, click here or stop by anytime they are open in the basement during regular hours: Tuesday 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., Wednesday 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
