Who We Are and What We Do
The Friends of the Woodbridge Library are volunteers who support the Library’s
mission and help to acquire services and materials beyond its budget.
We raise funds:
through an annual town-wide appeal, operate a community-donated bookstore, and hold periodic book sales. The Bookstore Alley on the Mezzanine offers gently used books and puzzles for $1 to $2. Payment can be made in cash, check, or credit card at the Circulation Desk or through Honor Cash Boxes at the Bookstore Alley; the Boxes also feature a QR code. Our adult volunteers, along with assistance from Amity High School students, clean all donations before they are put out for sale. Our book sales showcase our entire inventory. We usually hold a book sale in the fall and in the spring.
How you can help:
• Return the donation envelope sent in the annual appeal
• Pick up a donation envelope at the Circulation Desk
• Shop at Bookstore Alley
• Donate your gently loved books
• Remember the Friends in your estate planning
• Volunteer with the Friends
Our gifts:
• Adult & Children’s programs, from puppet shows to cooking demonstrations to speakers
• Book and equipment purchases, especially in technology
• Digital Resources (Audio Books, E-books, E-movies)
• Movie Nights
• Museum Passes
• Professional Development
• Replacing and restoring furniture where needed
Donate: Become a Friend
Donations are accepted from all interested people, organizations, and businesses and provides a means to share your enthusiasm for the aims and services of the Library. The money raised through these endeavors go to enhance the library offerings: speaker programs, equipment (particularly computer and technology equipment), professional staff training, movie nights, statewide museum passes and activities for all ages from preschool puppet shows to adult cooking demonstrations.
To become a Friend:
- Pick up an envelope at the Library Circulation Desk
- Return the envelope sent out during an annual appeal
- Make a payment via your PayPal account; search for Friends of the Woodbridge Library
Suggested Annual Donations:
$10 to $500 or more—
your choice.
As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, donations are tax-
deductible.
Click below to donate!
Book Donations
The Friends appreciate donations of gently loved, unstained, odor-free books. While the books sold in Bookstore Alley are used, we want them in good condition. All books are cleaned and sorted before being put for sale. We discard books with dust, dampness, mildew, musty, or smoking odors, as these conditions can spread throughout our collection. Books kept in a basement or garage are often damp or have slight mold, and they also are discarded.
With these requirements, please understand that donations are always welcomed and may be dropped off whenever the library is open. There is a donation basket and table inside the library’s front entrance.
Special Projects
In addition to sorting, cleaning, and selling the donations we receive, the Friends have projects where we re-gift donations we cannot use.
Book Re-gifting
The Friends receive more donations than we can store. We also often receive many copies of a popular book. We try to sell all our donations, but when duplicates or overflow inventory occur, we re-gift the overflow to charities.
Some charities that have recently received donations from the Friends:
- Operation Paperback: books sent to members of the military
- New Haven Reads Tutoring Center
- Books to Prisons
- Books to the Navajo Nation in Arizona
- Human Services Holiday Baskets to families in need
Please contact us if you know of a charity in need of books.
Operation Paperback
is a national, non-profit organization whose volunteers collect gently used books and send them to American troops overseas and veterans and military families here at home. As volunteer shippers, the Friends collect and ship our books using the addresses provided by Operation Paperback. We send books for adult service members as well as books for children to deployed soldiers who read to their children via webcam or on DVDs.
New Haven Reads
increases children’s literacy skills by providing individually tailored one-on-one after-school tutoring, educational family support, and a community book bank. The Friends collect extra books that would be of interest and deliver them to the tutoring center.
Books to Prisons
The Friends have established a contact with Yale Law School, through which some overflow books are sent to prisons in Connecticut. The donated books focus on classic novels, art books, sports, careers, spiritual and reference books, poetry, and self-help books. Volunteers from the Law School pick up these books and deliver them to various prisons.
Human Services Holiday Baskets
In December, Woodbridge Human Services provides holiday baskets to families in need. The baskets contain food items and other donated goods, such as gloves, hats, pajamas, and toys. The Friends provide donated books that have been cleaned and individually selected for the children by their age. Each child receives at least two books.
Books to Navajo Nation
Samantha Austin, a nurse practitioner in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and daughter of Friends’ volunteer Cathy Austin, has set up a Little Free Library using donations the Friends have sent. Here is a part of Samantha’s note:
“…Your contribution significantly enriches the lives of those who pass through our little corner of the neighborhood. Individuals of all ages stop by, smiling as they peruse the collection you’ve helped curate. From the little girls who stop by every day off the school bus, the families with young kids who say the library is the best part of their day, to the others in the hospital who tell me they stop by every week for a new book, the donations are valued. Our closest library is over an hour away, so book access is much appreciated. Your generosity has stocked our shelves and filled our hearts for fostering a love for reading within our community in the Navajo Nation.”
If you are interested in helping fund the shipping costs of these books, Operation Paperback for the military, or to the Navajo Nation in Arizona, please contact the Friends at woodbridgectfriends@gmail.com.
Become a Sponsor
The Woodbridge Town Library is a treasure called the Heart of our community. Another way to support the library is to become a sponsor and fund a project that helps the library address needs that arise beyond the town budget. Your support helps ensure the Woodbridge Town Library is a vibrant and welcoming place.
One such project was a refresh of the Woodbridge Room, thanks to a bequest from Jeannette Kordiak. The next project the Friends are addressing is refreshing the Children’s Room. In 2024, the Friends worked on updating the Children’s Story Room. Local artist Richard Falco sanded and repainted the pint-sized wooden chairs used for story hours. With money from the Friends, the children’s room staff picked out carpeting for the story time area and new adjustable-height craft tables for the Story Room, making the whole room fresher and more inviting.
Another project is the Coffee Bar on the second floor outside the Children’s Department. The Friends contributed to new furniture for teens and added a book cart with teen novels for sale. We also underwrite the cost of its coffee (Coffee and Hot Chocolate $1), thus encouraging the use of the space. The Coffee Bar has become a popular teen study spot.
There are other projects we hope to work on in 2025. If you would like to be a sponsor, please contact the Friends at woodbridgectfriends@gmail.com or (203) 389-3493.
Volunteers
We have a small, dedicated crew of volunteers who manage the bookstore and organize events such as book sales. Volunteers undergo a few training sessions to work with the books, but after that, they come on their own schedule. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact woodbridgectfriends@gmail.com.
Friends of the Library Board
President: Mia Von Beeden
President Emeritus: Mary Lee Barker
Vice President: Elizabeth Orsini
Co-Treasurers: Cathy Austin & Donna Lehman
Corresponding Secretary: Lisa Omark
Contact Information
woodbridgectfriends@gmail.com
Bookstore Phone: 203.389.3493
Thank you for your support!