News - The Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library

1May, 2020

Former Friends’ President Receives 2020 Governor’s Heritage Heritage Honor Preservation Award

The Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library is proud to announce that former Board President Joan Fudala is receiving one of this year’s Governor’s Heritage Honor Preservation Awards, to be awarded virtually in June.

The awards are given annually since 1982 by the Arizona Preservation Foundation and State Historic Preservation Office to recognize outstanding achievements in preserving Arizona’s historic resources. They are awarded at the Arizona Historic Preservation Conference, which n 2018 took place in Scottsdale.

Fudala is also a member of the Scottsdale History Hall of Fame, and has authored numerous books on the history of Scottsdale. She served as President of the Friends’ Board from 2003 to 2004, and received a Spirit of Literacy Award from the Friends in 2014.

Recently, Fudala was a pivotal member of the Scottsdale Heritage Connection (SHC) campaign committee from 2017 to 2019. This group completed a $500,000 capital campaign to build the SHC space in Civic Center Library that permanently houses the written and visual history of Scottsdale for research and documentation purposes.

You can learn more about the Governor’s Heritage Honor Preservation Awards and see a list of current and former winners at the Arizona Preservation Foundation website.

8Apr, 2020

Scottsdale Libraries to Go Fine-Free Starting July 1

Scottsdale City Council voted on Tuesday, April 7 to stop charging late fines on overdue Scottsdale Public Library materials effective July 1, 2020.

Scottsdale joins over 300 cities that will no longer charge late fines to Library patrons, although members will still be financially responsible for any lost or damaged items. The Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library would like to thank the Scottsdale Library Board for its efforts on researching and proposing this initiative in coordination with the Library.

In January 2019, the American Library Association (ALA) passed a resolution that urged libraries to scrutinize their fines programs and strengthen their funding support so they are not dependent on fines as a source of revenue.

ALA found that blocking library cards due to unpaid fines was a form of social inequity. Currently in Scottsdale, over 7,600 library cards are blocked, with a majority of the blocked cards from addresses south of Camelback Road.

The Friends supports the fine-free resolution and submitted an official comment to City Council in favor.

If you would like to help supplement some of the lost revenue from Scottsdale Public Library fines, please consider a Friends membership. Money raised from your tax-deductible donation supports Library events and programs.

10Feb, 2020

Thank You Scottsdale Library Volunteers for Your Hard Work

The Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library was a supporting partner of the 40th annual Scottsdale Library Volunteer Luncheon on Friday, February 7, 2020 at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale at Gainey Ranch.

*Bruce Wall presents about Scottsdale History at the 40th volunteer luncheon*

Scottsdale historical storyteller Bruce Wall served as guest speaker to discuss one of the most interesting crimes in Scottsdale history. Several City Council Members and members of the Library Board were also in attendance.

The annual lunch is a celebration of all the hard work by Library volunteers. In Scottsdale, there are nearly three volunteers for every staff member who volunteer at the Library, and their responsibilities include everything from shelving books to reading to children to running the book shops.

As an all-volunteer organization, the Friends is appreciative of the efforts of volunteers to provide the highest quality experience to patrons of Scottsdale Public Library.

1Jan, 2020

Friends Relaunches Membership Program with “Be a Friend, Make a Friend!”

Do you love libraries and support lifelong learning? Are you looking to meet people with common interests? If so, the the Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library’s new membership program is for you.

Spear-headed by Membership Chair Peggy Sharp-Chamberlain, we now have four levels of membership:

Friend ($35 – $99)
Contributing Friend ($100 – $499)
Supporting Friend ($500+)
Corporate Friend ($1,000)

We are also rewarding Friends members with special benefits, like a book club membership, invitations (and guest passes) for author presentations, discounts at the Library Shop, and a behind the scenes tour of the Library.

All Friends memberships are tax deductible, and money raised supports events and programs at Scottsdale Public Library. If you are interested, view our membership brochure or make a donation today.

17Dec, 2019

Newest Books2Go Library Now Open in Scottsdale

On Monday, December 16, Scottsdale Public Library officially opened a Books2Go mobile-library at Paiute Neighborhood Center in south Scottsdale.

*Mayor Jim Lane celebrates the opening of a Books2Go mobile-library with Girl Scouts from Troop 4*

Mayor Jim Lane was on-hand for a ribbon cutting of the newest Books2Go creation, which was created by Girl Scouts from Troop 4.

The Books2Go program, which began with funding from the Friends, now has five mobile libraries in public spaces throughout Scottsdale.

Each micro-library is stocked with books based on a theme of the location. For instance, the first Books2Go location opened in Chaparral Dog Park, so the books are pet-themed and the box is shaped like a doghouse.

Other Books2Go locations include Mountain View Park, Sonoran Hills Park, and Pinnacle Peak Park.

If you’d like to help build more micro-libraries for Scottsdale, please consider becoming a Friend of the Scottsdale Public Library.

9Dec, 2019

Friends Hosts Booth at Ultimate Play Date

It was a day of fun and learning as the Friends once again supported Scottsdale Public Library’s Ultimate Play Date on Saturday, December 7 at Civic Center Library.

*The Friends’ table at Ultimate Play Date*

In addition to sponsoring the face painting exhibit, the Friends featured a booth with a prize wheel. Children could win bookmarks, pencils, and candy.

The Play Date was filled with free educational and entertainment activities for children, including exhibits focused on science, music, and language. This annual event typically occurs during the spring, but was pushed to December this year due to construction on Scottsdale Mall.

The Friends also solicited donations for our 2020 fundraising project, expansion of the children’s story time room at Civic Center Library. If you’d like to help with this effort, please consider a tax-deductible donation.

9Oct, 2019

Former Friends Board Members Receive Historic Preservation Recognition Awards

Two former Presidents of the Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library recently received Historic Preservation Recognition Awards from the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution on October 5.

*Paul Messinger (left) and Douglas Sydnor (right) presented with Historic Preservation Awards*

Paul Messinger and Douglas Sydnor received the awards due to their efforts preserving the history of Scottsdale.

In addition to their time serving on the Friends Board, both Messinger and Sydnor were committee members who helped raise funds for the Scottsdale Heritage Connection, the Friends’ major fundraising effort from 2017-19. They were also Gold and Silver donors, respectively, toward the new space.

The SHC will officially open to the public on Saturday, October 19 within Civic Center Library. It will preserve the written and oral history of Scottsdale, offering research opportunities and historic lectures.

“Paul Messinger is a walking encyclopedia on everything Scottsdale and very much deserves to be recognized by the Daughters of the American Revolution for his contributions to preserving history,” wrote Marshall Trimble, Arizona’s Official State Historian, in his letter of recommendation.

Sydnor has authored three books on Arizona Historic architecture, and in 2018 received the Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Award.

The Friends congratulates Messinger and Sydnor on their recent honor, and thanks them for helping preserve the history of Scottsdale.

27Aug, 2019

Come Learn the History of Scottsdale Sports on Thursday, September 12

The Scottsdale Public Library has announced its next free salon series events celebrating the history of sports in Scottsdale on Thursday, September 12 at 6pm.

Historian Joan Fudala will present pictures and stories covering Scottsdale’s many ventures into sports, including Spring Training, golf events, and high school sports.

Back by popular demand, additional salon series events will soon be announced to cover numerous historical topics. They are led by Fudala and Doug Sydnor, former members of the Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library Board, in conjunction with the Scottsdale Heritage Connection (SHC).

The salon series originally began in February 2018, with continuations in fall 2018 and spring 2019. While they have traditionally rotated throughout Scottsdale Library branches, the hope is that they will soon be housed within the SHC space, scheduled to open to the public this fall.

1Jul, 2019

Scottsdale Heritage Connection Unveiled With Ribbon Cutting

After over two years of fundraising, the Scottsdale Heritage Connection held its ribbon cutting ceremony with a private breakfast for donors on Tuesday, June 25 at Civic Center Library.

SHC Ribbon Cutting — *Mayor Jim Lane and Paul Messinger cut the ribbon for the Scottsdale Heritage Connection*

Mayor Jim Lane was present to cut the ribbon, as were valued members of the Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library and the SHC fundraising committee. Attendees were treated to a tour of the space and breakfast items catered by Creations in Cuisine Catering.

The space is in the former home of Scottsdale Public Art next to the Knowasis Teen Center. It will be open to the public later this summer, as shelving still needs to be installed to house the historical documents. Once opened, the SHC will showcase over 10,000 documents celebrating the history of Scottsdale.

For those unable to attend, here is a brief Project Narrative reviewed during the opening.

Stay tuned for more details about free historical programming in the space beginning this fall. It’s also not too late to donate if you want to help us hit our goal of $500,000. The next stage of the project will be installing kiosks at the other Scottsdale Library branches to showcase the collection.

17Jun, 2019

Scottsdale Heritage Connection Featured in Several Local Publications

The Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library’s recent fundraising effort, the Scottsdale Heritage Connection (SHC), was profiled in a recent articles in the Scottsdale Independent and Scottsdale Progress.

SHC Construction — *Construction of the Scottsdale Heritage Connection in progress*

The Independent article interviewed Library staff as well as the Scottsdale Charros, one of the donors to the SHC project. It also highlighted additional fundraising efforts by the Friends, including the Books2Go micro libraries.

The Progress article focused on the May City Council meeting where the Scottsdale Library approved of naming rights for the interior space for the Messinger Family.

Both articles included construction images of the SHC space in Civic Center Library.

If the links to the articles no longer work, you can also access screenshots from the Independent and Progress websites.