Sun City set to celebrate National Library Friends Week National Friends of the Library Week is Oct. 19-25, and the local chapter will celebrate the occasion at Sun City’s two libraries, where leaders of the organization will greet visitors, offer small gifts, recruit volunteers and describe the impact Friends of the Sun City Libraries makes on the community. Members will staff special tables at the Sun City Library, at the Bell Recreation Center, 10 a.m.-noon Monday, Oct. 20, and the following day during the same hours at the branch in the Fairway center. This is the 20th annual National Friends week, but Sun City’s chapter traces its history back to 1961, when a friends group was formed to support a small library in what became the Fairway Recreation Center, according to Sue Blechl, president of the group. Today, more than 50 years later, Sun City’s Friends group is a certified nonprofit organization run by about 90 unpaid volunteers who love books and libraries. Friends generates about $40,000 a year for library improvements, equipment, and programs. In 2024 it sponsored 58 library events and funded the installation of computer charging stations in both libraries. The source of the Friends’ financial success is Books Around the Corner, a store located in the Bell library that sells used books, puzzles and DVDs at a discount. Between 2015 and 2024 the bookstore generated more than $366,224 to fund library initiatives, said Cathy Weyers, who manages the store. “We couldn’t do this without a mutually beneficial arrangement between RCSC and the Maricopa County Library District,” Blechl added. Under an agreement forged in 2009, RCSC provides the space and maintenance while MCLD provides the staffing and supplies. The two libraries have 19 full- and part-time librarians, assistants, and helpers, along with about 15 Friends volunteers. About 40 volunteers operate the bookstore. The store has a revolving stock of some 2,000 items, most of which have been donated by Sun City residents. “Sun City Friends is larger and more active than many groups in cities the same size as ours,” said Blechl, a former head librarian who has been involved with the Sun City Friends for nine years. “We can thank the bookstore for that. And special thanks to all the Sun City residents who shop there and donate books to be sold. They are great friends of the libraries, too.” The two libraries hosted an estimated 170,000 person visits in 2024, Blechl said. Their popularity was especially evident last year when the lease agreements between MCLD and RCSC came up for renewal. Friends learned that closing one or both libraries was under consideration. The group responded with a public awareness campaign that culminated with more than 1,000 residents flooding a RCSC board meeting to demonstrate support for the libraries. RCSC subsequently signed new five-year leases for both libraries. Friends also has an initiative called Share With Me. Here, Friends’ volunteers engage and entertain memory care and assisted living residents at two Sun City care facilities. Some volunteers make brief presentations using books, art, music, or pictures. Other volunteers read to residents in one-on-one settings. About 20 volunteers are involved. “We’re always looking for new volunteers,” Blechl said, adding that the group will have table at RCSC’s New Resident Orientation Nov. 7 at Sundial. Visit suncitylibraryfriends.org for more information. # Sun City Independent online, Friday, October 3, 2025 ➡️ https://www.yourvalley.net/sun-city...elebrate-national-library-friends-week,621022
This is a great organization to volunteer with, I did almost a decade until I went on the injured reserve list. i still get out to the library and the book store every now and again.
