Friends Day at OLA  Feb. 3, 2001

Program

9 - 10:15  Strategic planning tips and tools
10:15 - 10:30 - Break
10:30 - Noon   Getting Friendlier
Noon-2 - Millennium Luncheon
2 - 4 - Networking - focus groups

Strategic planning tips and tools

Speaker: Maureen Cubberley, Partner, ASM Advanced Strategic Management Consultants; Chair CIRA - Canadian Internet Registration Authority.

Convenor: Val Marshall, FOCAL Past President

Join our interactive strategic planning team! Share in a high-energy facilitated planning workshop - an hour of new ideas and new approaches. Take your findings back to your own organization and help shape your Friends' future success.

Getting Friendlier (or Amalgamating Friends of the Library Groups)

Speakers: Paul Devlin, Friends of the Ottawa Public Library; Jennifer Blunt, Director of Development, Toronto Public Library; Terry Sarazen, Small Library Consultant with the Southern Ontario Library Service

Convenor: Jami van Haaften, FOCAL President

Does the "A" word strike fear into the hearts of your Friends' groups members, or are they totally disinterested?  Is there volunteer life after amalgamation?  Our panel will describe the Friends groups amalgamation process and outcomes from several perspectives.

Issues raised by the amalgamation process, basic steps to follow and some suggested "best practices" will be covered in this workshop. The new SOLS Small Library Kit, "Amalgamating Friends of the Library Groups", will be introduced at the session.

The registration fee of $30 includes luncheon, and we will be joining OLA conference delegates in their Millennium celebration.

Our day will close with last year's popular feature - the focus groups.

During the week we will be set up in the exhibit hall, promoting FOCAL and displaying the winners of the Random House of Canada's "Friends of the Year" award. This will be an opportunity to showcase the work of Friends groups across Canada.

Puppets

After 30 years of puppeteering in libraries, my puppet pattern for fabric mouth puppets  will be produced and sold by MacPhee Workshop, a successful Canadian sewing company with a large selection of patterns.

The puppet pattern will be available this fall. A portion of all sales of the pattern will go to FOCAL. Patterns will be sold at all major conferences and can also be ordered for Friends' sales locally as fund-raisers.

It is planned that each year a new library puppet character will be created and sold as a do-it-yourself kit. The results could be used in libraries or sold as well. Rather than make any money on this arrangement I am pleased to dedicate a portion of all sales to FOCAL. Watch for the launch!!

Don Mills
CEO, Mississauga Public Library