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Trustees, Friends, & Foundations |
October 2025 |  |
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Welcome to the Trustees, Friends, & Foundations Newsletter!
A monthly update on items relevant to those
who work as or with Library Trustees, Friends, and Foundations.
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| October 1, 2025
The Library of Virginia is pleased to present a brand new resource to assist the many Friends of the Library groups across the Commonwealth -- the first-ever Friends of the Library Handbook: Virginia Public Libraries!
Covering topics from recruitment to policies to advocacy to fundraising, this resource aims to provide guidelines and best practices for establishing, maintaining, or enhancing the Friends of the Library groups that support public libraries in Virginia.
An electronic copy can be accessed via the link above, and limited paper copies will be distributed to the public library directors and each Friends board chairperson, with distribution to take place by the end of October 2025. |
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| October 7, 2025
Banned Books Week took place October 5–11. This year’s theme was “Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights.”
"1982
Year that ALA held its first Banned Books Week.
2,452
Total number of unique titles challenged in libraries in in 2024 that were documented by ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. While that number is a sharp decline from 2023’s record-high of 4,240 unique books challenged, it remains the third-highest number of reported unique books challenged since ALA began tracking in 1990..." |
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Sign Up with the Virginia Library Association as an Advocate!
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Click HERE and sign up for the VLA Advocacy Center Mailing List to make sure you're receiving Virginia action alerts and updates on policy issues related to the library field. This will help you keep abreast of legislation that could affect your local library and community.
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Federal Funding & Virginia Libraries (Status - As of the publication of this newsletter on 10/15/25)
Regarding the federal funding as it applies to Virginia public libraries and Executive Order 14238 in the reduction of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
New News: Remains the Same:
All states that receive an annual allotment from the IMLS Grants to States program have now been awarded a full allotment for the next fiscal year. This means that Virginia LSTA funding, approximately $4.3 million per year, will continue through September 30, 2026. There are no anticipated changes in funding. This is primarily due to the preliminary injunction in Rhode Island v. Trump, which prohibits the continued dismantling of IMLS until the case is resolved. This means that initiatives that impact your public libraries, such as the Find It Virginia databases, library consulting, Niche Academy, and other resources, will remain in place for the same period. The Library of Virginia will continue to move forward on the various projects funded by LSTA. Federal funding levels for beyond the above are still unknown. The original budget had only $6 million allocated to "close out" IMLS as an agency. The Senate Report 119-55 for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2026, includes $291,800,000 in appropriations for IMLS in 2026, with the LSTA Grants to States being funded at $183,000,000. This latter amount is what funds the work of the Library Development division of the Library of Virginia in support of public libraries across the Commonwealth. The House Report for the Departments of Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2026, was released on September 1, 2025. It included $291,800,000 in its appropriations for IMLS for 2026, though it doesn't list any further breakdowns. The good news is that both the House and Senate versions match, but we still have to await the final passage of these measures. |
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UNITED FOR LIBRARIES RESOURCES |
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Virginia library staff and stakeholders (folks like
you!) have access to a whole host of resources from United for Libraries.
Click to get the CHEAT SHEET signed up and in.
| Already signed up? Click HERE to access everything through the ALA eLearning Platform! |
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Critical Data Storytelling
Thursday, November 13, 2025 -- 2:00p-3:00p -- No Cost to Register for VA Libraries!
Special date due to Veteran's Day.
How can library Boards/Trustees, Friends of the Library, and library Foundations use data stories to build support and resilience? Drawing on her book Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries and the IMLS Data Storytelling Toolkit, Dr. Kate McDowell will share ethical, impactful approaches for crafting compelling narratives. Learn to reach diverse audiences, leverage powerful story structures, and build resilience in the face of funding cuts and censorship. This session supports library advocates in any role in telling the stories of why libraries and other public information institutions matter.
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| OTHER OPPORTUNITIES |
'Free for All' and Friends of the Library: A Free National Friends of the Libraries Week Webinar
Tuesday, October 21, 2025 -- 7:00p
Join Dawn Logsdon and Lucie Faulknor, the filmmakers who created the acclaimed documentary 'Free for All: The Public Library,' to learn more about the film, and find out how to present a screening at your library (free or discounted for eligible libraries). Get tips and ideas for creating an event around the film from library Friends around the country.
'Free for All: The Public Library' tells the story of the quiet revolutionaries who made a simple idea happen. From the pioneering women behind the “Free Library Movement” to today's librarians who service the public despite working in a contentious age of closures and book bans, meet those who created a civic institution where everything is free and the doors are open to all. |
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Public Charities Can Advocate and Lobby: How Your 501(c)(3) Friends of the Library Group or Library Foundation Can Influence Policy for the Greater Good
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 -- 3:00p -- No Cost to Register for VA Libraries!
When our laws and policies work for us, our communities win. Nonprofits have a close-up view of community needs, and can and should take advantage of their right to influence law and policy. After this workshop, you will have a clear understanding of the advocacy activities you can engage in, and how to maximize your non-lobbying advocacy when representing 501(c)(3) public charities, including public and community foundations. |
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First Amendment Rights Unite Friends and Stakeholders for Everyday Practice
Friday, November 14, 2025 -- 1:30p -- No Cost to Register for VA Libraries!
The First Amendment shapes intellectual freedom in everyday library practice. A panel of experts will share real-world insights on how librarians and libraries champion the right to read freely, protect privacy, and advocate for open access to information. You’ll be empowered with practical strategies to defend free expression, safeguard patron rights, and strengthen libraries as vital pillars of democratic society. |
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| Finding Your Voice: Content that Stands Out of the Crowd |
Is every newsletter a struggle against the blank page? Does your copy sound like it was written by a robot? Do your fundraising emails seem boring, even to you? Join us for a 45-minute FREE Nonprofit Webinar, where we will show you step-by-step how to identify and highlight what makes your organization unique and how to communicate that to your audience. In summary, help the reader understand that you are the expert specifically for this webinar, you will show them what to do step-by-step and they will be able to utilize what they have learned immediately post webinar.
(Occurs: 10.21.25 - 3p) |
| Register Here
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10 Things Every Library Friend or Trustee Should Know |
Library Friends and Trustees fall into two camps: 1) Those who have served on a nonprofit board 2) Those who have not. But – nonprofit board experience is not the same as library board experience, especially one that is a governmental entity! Members who do not adequately understand their roles are more likely to venture into areas that are not their responsibility. Join us for a fast-paced and informative session that is sure to surprise you!
(Occurs: 10.28.25 - 3p) |
| Register Here
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| How to Have More Productive Conversations with Donors |
Join fundraising master trainer, Chad Barger, ACFRE, ACNP, for a session focused on improving the conversations that we have with our donors. We’ll cover practical tips that you can immediately implement to improve your donor interactions and, in the process, Chad will walk you step by step through how he has successfully engaged donors throughout his 25+ year fundraising career.
(Occurs: 10.30.25 - 1p) |
| Register Here
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Trustee, Friends, and Foundation members have access to the Library of Virginia's Niche Academy, a place for online learning.
Please note, if you register with a non-library issued e-mail address, someone from the Library of Virginia will follow up with you to confirm that you are affiliated with a Virginia library before you can access the content. |
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Click on the image to learn more about each title, and then use your local library to request them from the Library of Virginia.
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"All readers deserve to have stories in which they can escape or a story with which they can identify--one that reflects their own culture, history, challenges, and existence. We can't really know [one] another without knowing each other's story."
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- Pam Muñoz Ryan, Pura Belpré Award and Newbery Honor winner |
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This newsletter is brought to you by the Library Development division of the Library of Virginia. Funding for this is provided through the Virginia General Assembly and the Institute for Museum and Library Studies (IMLS).
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