The Friends of the Murray Bridge Public Library Inc.

murraybridgefol@australiamail.com

Phone Number: +61 8 8539 1175

WHERE IS MURRAY BRIDGE?

Murray Bridge is approximately 80 kilometres east of Adelaide along the South Eastern Freeway. It is often referred to as the Rural City of Murray Bridge. There are a number of historical sites in and around Murray Bridge.Some of these are The the Round House, the St Jophns Cathedral, the smallest Cathedral in Australia, captains Cottage Folk Museum. When visiting the city, one can also visit the Bunyip at Sturt Reserve, see the Twin Bridges or take a walk along one of the walking trails within the town. The road bridge was completed in 1879 and the rail bridge completed soon after.Sturt reserve is a very picturesque areabeside the river. It is ideally situated in close proximity of the main street, cafes and surrounded by manicured parklands.

HISTORY of the FRIENDS

There is a small but dedicated core of members who meet regularly. New faces are always welcome. While the Library has wide community acceptance and support, a relatively small number are actually members of the Friends. The membership number has improved and currently the 2006 membership has improved to 24 members, a significant increase in past years. Friends have and will continue to lobby on behalf of the community to ensure the integrity and quality of the Library service is maintained.

SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES

The School Holiday Activities commenced in January 2002 and has become a welcome haven for up to 2 weeks each school holiday break. One-hour craft activities are held in the library most days over the School Holidays. Children engage in a variety of activities which are used as presents by the children, or to keep for themselves. Bookings are essential due to the popularity of the sessions and can be made at the Library (phone 85 391175) a list of the dates/times and activities are available at the front counter. Each hour long session presents the children with a new activity and enables participants to learn new skills, how to handle equipment effectively and lend assistance to the younger children. Due to space constraints, a maximum number of participants is set. There are generally two different sessions each day. sessions. The sessions cost $1.00 per activity to help cover the cost of materials used. At each session each child receives a free raffle ticket which is drawn at the last session. Children can add their names to a special Birthday Book if they wish. Trevor the Pelican, the Library’s logo, is an important part of activity periods.

OFFICE BEARERS 2005 – 2006

President Sue Job
Secretary (Acting) Ann Hughes
Treasurer Ann Hughes
Publicity Officer Ann Hughes
Patron Pam Arbon

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

The above officers together with - Victoria Carmichael, Neil Jaunay, Muriel Wittwer, Peggy Bennett, Laurel Warneke

THE FRIENDS OF THE MURRAY BRIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY INC.

Past funding of resources, non-consumable items and equipment for the School Holiday Activities program.

NOTICE BOARD

The Friends has its own Notice board. This is situated for viewing by the general public. The current and future events as well as information of meetings (dates/times) are clearly advertised. Photographs and cuttings from the local paper relating to the Friends activities and events are clearly advertised. acknowledgement of any donors and/or sponsors for the Friends is also posted on the Notice board.

Individuals and business operators support the Friends from time to time in various ways through monetary donations, vouchers or in-kind assistance. Their contribution is always acknowledged with a letter of thanks as being listed on the noticeboard.

MEETINGS FOR 2006

General Meetings for 2006 are held on: -
Monday March 20th
Monday June 19th
August 7th - AGM
December 4th

Meetings are held in the Library meeting room. The Committee endeavours to arrange a guest speaker on these occasions, except at the AGM. General meetings are advertised well in advance to all members via the Noticeboard and mail notice. These meetings are also opened to the general public (including non-memebrs) wishing to hear the speaker. On occasions, other interested local groups (ie - the History Group) are also invited. Advertisisng in the local paper's "Community Calenda" is used for such meetings and all fundraising events. The Committee meets approximately 5 times each year.


Current Committee 2006

TREVOR, THE LIBRARY PELICAN
In 1991, a competition was conducted to find a suitable name for teh pelican on the Library logo.a young boy came up with 'Trevor'. He won a book voucher for his effort. Trevor keeps his library books in his bill. Not only is Trevor part of the Library logo, but he is the mascot for the School Holiday activities. A weekly book review is in the local paper called"Trevor's Book Review"which recommends one of the new releases on display in the Library. Trevor is well known to Library users and especially the children. In April 2002, a logo for the Friends was created. With permission from the Library staff the logo is incorporated with the friends.



FUNDRAISING
Monster Street Book Sales:- culling of outdated books,magazines,Board games, Jigsaws, videos, audio cassettes and DVD's has become an opportunity for the Friends to raise funds. Initially a 3 - day book sale was held in the Town Hall foyer and its adjacent rooms. It proved a poor site despite rigorous advertising of the event. In 2005, it was decided to trial 3 individual days in April, August and November as a Street Sale at the corner of Bridge and seventh Streets. These proved a successful idea and continues to be a financial success. Members of the Friends are rostered for 1 - 2 hours assisting at each occasion. There appears to be no extra demands for the volunteers and members to transport the crates of books from the Library to the sitewith added assistance from male volunteers and the use of a vehicle for the transportation.



Monthly Mini Book Sales: - are conducted in the Library meeting room on the first Tuesday each month from 12 to 4 pm except in January and have proved extremely popular. In 2005, these days raised as much as the the three street sales.



Spring Garden Party: - since 2003, the Friends Committee initiated the first garden Party at a member's home followed by the 2004 event being held at the historic Round House overlooking the murray river near the road bridge. despite vigorous advertising both raised approximately $100. For the 2005 event, the Committee initiated several changes. A more central location for the venue was essential, include a musical program and to issue personalised invitations. Each member distributed 10 -12 invitations to persons of their choice and to be responsible for the replies. Initially the new venue was to have been on the lawns of the Local Government Centre, but on the day a torrential downpour meant change. The event was held indoors at the Local Government Centre with over 100 guests in attendance. The Friends members attended to the catering and raffle prizes. The entertainment was provided free of charge by several members of the Bridge Players and Singers which proved to be a wonderful addition to the event. The raffle of 4 locally donated crafts was extremely well supported. In all just over $400 was raised. The 2006 Garden Party, some refer to as a "Claytons"event will be held at the local Government centre on Friday October 6th 2006.



Local Business support: -Local business operators have been and continue to be most supportive to the fundraising activities staged by the Friends. In kind assistance, donations and vouchers upon request have been greatly appreciated.




MEMBERSHIP