A Bookish Weekend

Friends Sorting Books at Donation Drop Off
Saturday, May 7, 2011

First of all, we would like to thank Nancye Tuttle for her article in last Thurday's Stepping Out section of the Lowell Sun. The article covered a lot of information about local area library booksales and our own Friends were fortunate enough to have been featured prominently.

So, don't forget, the Annual Friends Booksale is this Saturday from 9am-3pm at the Lowell Senior Center, 276 Broadway St, Lowell, MA.

And also, don't Forget, Friday is the Friends' Preview Night. Dues paying members of the Friends are invited to join us for first dibs on the cream of the crop of this sale. There will be light refreshments for this event. 5:30-7:30PM Friday May 20th at the Lowell Senior Center.

There are some real deals to be had at the sale and the money raised ultimately goes to the library for programs and services. For example, the Friends buy many of the library's museum passes which allow free or discounted entry for our patrons into many New England attractions (everything from the Boston Children's Museum and the New England Aquarium, to Zoo New England and the Museum of Fine Arts). These passes end up providing a great cost saving to our patrons. For example, two of our most popular passes are the Museum of Science and the Aquarium. Over the past year, they were used 237 and 206 times respectively. The cumulative average savings for patrons who used these two passes (depending on whether they used the 'maximum' number of entries available on the pass) totals more than $15000. For more information about what passes are available and how to reserve them please visit: http://pollardml.org/passes.html

The Friends also sponsor library programming. Such as our highly anticipated Summer Reading Kick-Off Event with the Pumpernickel Puppets, Wednesday, June 22nd @ 7PM (Free tickets available June 1st). For more information about the Friends and to find out how you can help you can email friendsofthepml@yahoo.com.

And in case the Annual Booksale only whetted your bookish appetite this weekend you should head down to UML's, O'Leary Library on Sunday, May 22nd at 2pm for a special book release party for three new 'Lowell' books being published by Loom Press. Two books of poetry and one of testimony. Welcome, all.

I would also be remiss if I didn't remind you we have the perfect lead in to this book related weekend—Steven O'Connor will be reading from his new book The Spy In the City Of Books Thursday, May 19th @ 7PM in the Ground Floor Meeting Room of the library. Don't miss it.