Friends of the Berkley Library

By Lisa Howard

So Much Greater Than The Sum of its Books

LIBRARIES HAVE ALWAYS EVOLVED IN TANDEM WITH MAINSTREAM CULTURE, BUT THAT’S BEEN EVEN MORE TRUE LATELY – THE PAST FEW YEARS ACCELERATED WHAT THE LIBRARY OFFERS WITH THE ADVENT OF TAKE-HOME ACTIVITY KITS, VIRTUAL PROGRAMS AND POP-UP CURBSIDE BOOK SALES.

Many of those innovations are thanks to the Friends of the Berkley Public Library, which will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year. “Without the support of the Friends, this would be a very different library,” says Matt Church, the Library’s Director. The pop-up sales have gone especially well, with nearly every item snagged by happy bibliophiles. The Friends also sponsored the summer reading program and the community mural that was created by local artist Daniel Cascardo and festivalgoers during the Berkley Street Art Fest.

Matt says that people got a renewed appreciation of the library during the pandemic. Along with books, the library started lending out mobile hotspots and built up its collection of ever-popular puzzles and TV series. It also went fine-free and decided to make that permanent, a change that Matt says both the staff and the public are thrilled about.

ANOTHER INTRIGUING NEW ADDITION is the seed library. It was started by a resident who was passionate about “lending” seeds (patrons are asked to plant the seeds, then harvest the next round of seeds from the plant and “return” them) and who organized volunteers to label and manage seed donations as they come in. The seeds now have a permanent home in a repurposed card catalog and are neatly sorted into fruit, vegetable, herb and flower drawers.

The littlest patrons (and their caregivers) will be particularly excited about the storytime room, which was refurbished shortly before the pandemic began. After a few more touch-ups, it reopened to the public this September. Storytime is back!

And before the year is out, the library will be unveiling an entirely new collection for its patrons: vinyl. “Libraries used to have vinyl many years ago but did away with records, and now we’re bringing it back,” says Matt. Proving that once again, the Library is at the forefront of trends.’

3155 Coolidge Hwy, Berkley MI 48072 | 248.658.3440 www.berkleymich.org/departments/library/index.php www.facebook.com/FriendsOfTheBerkleyPublicLibrary