Friends of the Library Alachua County

08/21/2026

Check out these fun bookmarks from the Omaha Public Library. Which one is your favorite?

08/18/2026

Volunteer Highlight

Meet Tony!
Tony is the coordinator for our Art Annex.

He was an architect and an UF professor of architecture for 40 years! He taught structures and design.

He has volunteered with us for about 16 years. He started as a sorter and then transitioned over to architecture books.

Tony told me some history of the art area: Back in the Fall of 2010, we had 1 table for art out in the parking lot under a tent. There were 2 ladies working it.
Then we started getting more and more art. We needed 2 tables and a bigger tent. We would set up in the parking lot early on Saturday morning, using tents and lattice to display the art. Then we would have to take it down at night, and reset it up again on Sunday. A big wind could bring it all crashing down, and rain was always a concern. We sold the art only on Saturday and Sunday then. Over the years, we got more and more art donations and it was hard to find space for all of it. When the thrift store closed down, we had the opportunity to buy it, and expand our art area. During the Covid pandemic, we worked on setting the room up, putting up shelves and hanging the lattice. Our first sale in the Art Annex was the Fall 2021 sale.

"We started with 2 people; now we have 12 people dedicated to working on the art and art-related books and we are busy all the time. We are a good team."

08/16/2026

Welcome back to the UF and SF College students. Wishing you a great semester! Hope to see you at our Fall Book Sale Oct 24-28.

08/15/2026

Are you afraid of running out of books? Our Fall Book Sale starts in just 10 weeks! We have received a tremendous number of donations so be prepared for a great selection!
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08/14/2026

Only 10 weeks until our Fall Book Sale!!
Shop the Sale Oct 24-28!

08/11/2026

Volunteer Highlight!

Meet Karen S.
Karen is 1 of 5 table coordinators for the Young Adult section, which is around 4th grade to teenagers. They each specialize in a different part of the YA area; Karen's area includes lots of series like Percy Jackson, Wings of Fire and more!
Karen helps to re-sort all the YA books, get them to the appropriate table and then prices each book in her area.

Karen has volunteered with us for around 8 years.

A New England native, Karen moved to Florida over 20 years ago, following her daughter to the Tampa area. She worked as a nurse at several middle schools. When she retired from nursing, she moved to Gainesville.

Her favorite thing about volunteering: "Giving back to the community".

08/09/2026

Public school starts tomorrow! Wishing everyone at Alachua County Public Schools a great school year!

08/09/2026

Happy National Book Lovers Day! What are you reading this weekend?

08/08/2026

Happy Birthday to Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings born on this date in 1896.
Her best known work, The Yearling, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1939 and was later made into a movie. Have you been to her home in Cross Creek?

Celebrate Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' birthday this weekend. Until then, step back in time and enjoy her classic works.
https://tr.ee/fq90tn

08/07/2026

One of our volunteers found the book that matches her shirt!