From Winter into Spring

Surprisingly warm April days make us want to read out outside, like the child in the statue near the Queset House.    Newsletter photos by Julie Gray and Sylvia Rodrigue

From Our President

Welcome to the April 2023 issue of the Friends of the Ames Free Library Newsletter.
Our exciting news is that the Friends Book Sale will be held on the 29th of April at Queset House. See the information about the book sale below.

Also mentioned in this newsletter is a request for volunteers. You can help us in our efforts to support the programs of our amazing Ames Free Library by volunteering an hour or two a week. You will be working with a group of dedicated and friendly people. We would love to meet you and work with you.

Please contact our VP/Volunteer Coordinator Julie Gray at [email protected] if you are interested. Hope to see you soon.

—Barbara A. Beech, President

How YOU Can Help the Friends of the Ames Free Library

- Spread the word about our Spring Book Sale
- Shop at our Spring Book Sale
- Become a member
- Volunteer your time
- Donate books

See below for details!

Upcoming Event

Spring Book Sale

Queset House

Saturday, April 29, 2023

Hours: 10-2

The Queset House is to the right of the main library building. 51 Main Street, North Easton, MA 02356

We are preparing for our April book sale. Hardcover and paperback books will be available for the low prices of 50¢ and 25¢, and collectible books will be priced affordably. It’s the perfect time to add to your own library!

Email [email protected] if you’d like to post the Spring Book Sale flyer to help us spread the word.

Your Donations At Work

English for All. We gave $750 to the English for All program, which has been serving the local immigrant community through the Ames Free Library since 2017. Program Director and Lead Teacher Julie Un will use this gift to buy special materials for a recent arrival from Ukraine, paperbacks for a book club, readers for the intermediate reading class, and other books for current students who need additional materials.

In 2022 the Friends helped to fund costs of grammar, vocabulary, and social studies textbooks. Our gift allowed the program to start a weekly multi-level pronunciation class as well as two supplemental small-group practice tutorials. Un told us, “we would not have had the resources for such a big investment without your assistance. The pronunciation initiative has been a huge success! As you can imagine, even a student with an extensive knowledge of English cannot communicate effectively without clear pronunciation, so the students are learning an essential skill for their success in this country.” Un and the program’s students send heartfelt thanks to the Friends of the Ames Free Library.

Projects In Progress

Sue McGarry, our membership chair, undertook the creation of a planning document to help us organize our monthly work.

We are delighted that our library liasion, Mary Silva, supplied a new wish list for funding requests from the library staff. We look forward to fulfilling as many requests as we can!

Publicity Chair Michele Blake and Marina Guo at the Library created a flyer for the Spring Book Sale with our new QR code.

Vice President Julie Gray created a informational flyer to post around town. The laminated flyer encourages the public to come visit the Friends Book Sale Room in the Queset House. Email [email protected] if you’d like to post the flyer to help us spread the word about our favorite hidden gem in Easton!  

Become A Member

Do you love your library?

If so, join the Friends!  

Your tax-deductible membership dues help us continue the important work of supporting the Ames Free Library and entitle you to free books.

Print out this membership application. Make checks payable to Friends of the Ames Free Library and mail  to P.O. Box 61, North Easton, MA 02356-0061.

Volunteers ALWAYS Wanted!

Do you enjoy organizing books? We need your help in the book room to put books on shelves and keep them tidy. If you’re interested, contact us at [email protected].

We Need Your Books!

Between 1 and 5 PM on Saturdays, you’re welcome to donate gently used books in excellent condition at the Book Sale Room in the Queset House. Sales of high-quality books help us support the library.

No Book Donations Will Be Accepted On April 29, 2023.

Books in poor condition will not be accepted. Please note our criteria:

- Only 25 books per donation
- No dust, mold, stained or torn pages, or notes in the margins. If you wouldn’t buy it, please don’t donate it!
- No textbooks, magazines, encyclopedias, dictionaries, or CDs
- Never leave books outside the building

If you want to donate more than 25 books in excellent condition, please contact the Friends at [email protected] to make an appointment. Many thanks for your understanding.

If you have books to donate that do not meet our criteria, you might try More Than Words (617-674-5555), which offers curbside pickup by appointment.

If you have paperback dictionaries to donate, contact Providence Books through Bars.

Book Sales In The Queset House

Sales of used books help supply the funding we need to provide library materials and programs not included in the Library’s budget.

Browse the Book Sale Room at the Queset House from Monday thru Thursday, 1 to 8 pm, and on Friday and Saturday, 1 to 5 pm. Most hardcovers cost $1, most paperbacks cost 50¢.

Behind The Locked Door

There is a locked door in the Book Sale Room, behind which Friends volunteers sort book donations and keep up with the paperwork necessary to run the organization. Above left, books wait to be shelved in the Book Sale Room. Above right, Vice President and Volunteer Coordinator Julie Gray works on projects for the Friends.

From Our Vice President

Happy Spring! Amid emerging daffodils and forsythia, we are all attempting to spend more time in the sunshine. Why not with a good book?

Please drop by the Queset House Book Sales Room, open daily at 1 PM, for a couple of new titles to tuck in your bag. Better yet, plan to visit during our semi-annual Book Sale Event on April 29, with bargain half-price selections on our abundant and varied book collection. Stop in from 10 AM to 2 PM for book bargains galore! Your donations support select programming and purchases for the award-winning Ames Free Library.

In our travels around town and beyond, let’s appreciate those lovely spring flowers and the fresh air we’ve all been waiting for. You just may see us at Queset Gardens this spring with an armful of fresh books!

—Julie Gray, Vice President and Volunteer Coordinator