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Friends of the Library receive national award

Payson Roundup
July 4, 2006

Briefs Section

The Payson Friends of the Library have been recognized by the national organization, Friends of Libraries U.S.A.

The group recently awarded the Payson organization for having the best newsletter and best planned giving brochure among its members.

Romaine Brophy has produced the Payson Friends of the Library's newsletter since 1998. She also developed its new planned giving brochure.

The awards were presented as part of Friends of Libraries U.S.A.'s "Best of Friends" competition, which included awards for best Web site and best fund-raising campaign.

"I believe they are going to include the award-winning projects in a special publication to give ideas to other groups," Brophy said. "It was a big thrill, and I found out about it by accident."

A woman interested in organizing a library friends group in Camp Verde went to the FOLUSA Web site and saw the list of winners and let Brophy know about it.

Brophy said the newsletter takes from 15 to 20 hours a month to produce.
Because of work requirements, she is taking a six-month sabbatical from producing the publication.

"So far, no one has stepped forward to take over, so I guess we aren't going to have a newsletter for awhile," she said.

The new planned giving brochure is part of the group's efforts to create a more regular income stream by encouraging residents and businesses to commit to an ongoing contribution program, similar to the funding mechanism frequently used by public television, Brophy said.