Friends of the Library

Be a Friend – Join the Manhattan Library Association (MLA), the Friends of the Library

MLA raises funds through memberships, the spring used book sale, and Rosie’s Corner, located on the first floor of the library, which sells used books year round. Members get to participate in a special preview day at the spring book sale with first choice of books!

To become a Friend of the Library, print and complete this membership form then mail it along with your check to The Manhattan Library Association at 629 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, KS 66502. You may also bring your form and check to the library's Information Desk. MLA is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Your membership may qualify as a charitable tax deduction.

MLA was founded in 1900 when community members decided to build the first public library in Manhattan, the Carnegie Library, at 5^th and Poyntz. Since those early days, MLA has continued a generous tradition of helping the library in a variety of ways.

Recent projects and programs funded by MLA include:

• Summer Reading activities, prizes, programs, and supplies. In 2012 participation in Summer Reading surpassed 3,000 readers who together logged more than 1,000,000 minutes.
• During Kansas Reads to Preschoolers Week in November 2012, over 380 copies of the book Lola Loves Stories were given away to encourage early childhood literacy.
• Donating $2,500 to the Building for Young Minds campaign.
• Organizing and supporting the annual Talk About Literature in Kansas book discussion program, now in its 12th year. This program brings a series of Kansas scholars to the library each spring to lead book talks. A new theme is chosen every year and multiple copies of each book are made available to patrons for check-out before the discussions.
• Advocacy for the library with a successful membership drive and the development of an attractive and informative membership brochure. There are 260 MLA members.
• The fun and successful annual book sale (this year celebrating Dr. Seuss’ birthday) which has become a signature event that people look forward to each spring.
• Distributing Book Page, a monthly publication of book reviews and library information.
• Support of event programming for kids, teens, and adults.
• Funding for new books and materials.