First Friday With Friends is a Zoom gathering of Friends, librarians, and all who love libraries to share ideas and talk about topics important to Friends groups and library volunteers.
Past Sessions — click for recording when available:
- November 2026: Successful Strategies for Growing Friends Membership presented my Mary Ontko, Friends of Baldwin Library (watch video or listen to session audio)
- October 2026: Intellectual Freedom – Library Advocacy and Support for Friends Groups presented by Lacie Griffin (video, session audio, PowerPoint)
- September 2026: Fundraising: Best Practices for Friends Groups with Robyn Kollar (video or audio)
- August 2026: Celebrations! Inspiration from Wichita Public Library’s 150th Birthday (video or audio)
- May 2026: Unearthing Your Friends Group’s Power this Summer (open mic event)
- April 2026: Your 501(c)(3) Roadmap (Resources: PowerPoint Presentation and session notes)
- March 2026: The Art of Gathering for Friends Groups with Brenda Hough and Dan Alexander
- February 2026: Merch that Works
- January 2026: Misinformation in the Digital Age
- October 2025: 2025 Challenge Grant Winner Showcase – Project updates and impact
- September 2025: Friend Raising: Celebrating National Friends of the Library Week
- April 2025: Executive Order Targeting IMLS. Additional IMLS information and links, KS One Pager 2025, and Advocacy Story Template from ALA.
- March 2025: Conversation with the growing Friends of Louisburg Group
- February 2025: Grants for Friends Groups
- January 2025: Benefits of Friends Membership
- October 2024: Recruiting and Retaining Board Members and Volunteers
- September 2024: Celebrating National Friends of the Library Week
- August 2024: Fall and Winter Fun(d)raising Ideas
- May 2024: How To Talk With Elected Officials, presented by Marie Pyko, CEO, Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library.
- April 2024: Start-Up Success Story with Cardinal Friends of the Wetmore Library.
- March 2024: Rising to the Challenge: How to be an Advocate for Intellectual Freedom, presented by Tabitha Hogan, Director, Winfield Public Library .
- February 2024: FoKL Grants for Public Libraries with Board members Linda Knupp and Sheryl Erickson. A helpful discussion about FoKL Challenge Grant applications.
- December 2023: Friends You Can Count On: Library Advocacy in Action a discussion inspired by Brenda Hough’s KLA presentation on advocacy. Use this worksheet from Brenda to spark a conversation about advocacy with your Friends group.
- October 2023: Secrets of Success: Building Support for New Walls with McKenzie Murphy, Director at McPherson Public Library
- September 2023: Secrets of Success: National Friends of Libraries Week. Check out this link to ALA’s National Friends of Libraries Week 2023 and a great list of ways to celebrate courtesy of FoKL Board Member, Sheryl Erickson
- August 2023: Secrets of Success: Reviving and Thriving with Friends of Beck Bookman Library
- April 2023: Summer with Friends: How Friends Support Their Library During Summer Reading with Friends of the Mary Cotton Library
- March 2023: March Madness, Building Your Team with FoKL’s 2022 Outstanding Individual, Erin Ragan
- February 2023: Secrets of Success: Library Libations and Books, Beer and BBQ with FoKL Board Member Cheryl Sylvester and Friends of the Ashland Public Library. Click to see event posters for Beer, Brats, and Banned Books, Dinner Drama and Diamonds: Steel Magnolias:, Dinner Drama and Diamonds: Love Letters.
- January 2023: Secrets of Success: Community Relationships and Bond Issues with FoKL Board Member Amy Brucker
- November 2022: Memorandum of Understanding Documents
- October 2022: Community Partnership with Friends of Baldwin City Library and Wendy Conover
- September 2022: Document Retention
- August 2022: ABC’s of Book Sorting and Sales with Friends of the Salina Public Library
- July 2022: Unique Fundraising with Friends of Morrill Public Library
- June 2022: Summer Library Program with Friends of the Andover Public Library
- May 2022: Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner with Friends of the Wamego Public Library
- April 2022: Online Memberships and Payments with Manhattan Public Library Association
- March 2022: Friends of the Winfield Public Library
- February 2022: Let’s Get Social: Using Media to Communicate with Friends
- January 2022: Advocating for the Library at all Levels
- December 2021: Allocating Funds Raised
- November 2021: Open Mic: Bring Your Questions
- October 2021: National Friends of Libraries Week
- September 2021: Let’s Talk Friends, Foundations, and Libraries
- August 2021: Who’s On Fire? Preventing Burnout
- July 2021: Going for the Gold: Be a Library Champion
- June 2021: Making Memberships Meaningful
- May 2021: Book Sales
- April 2021: Back to Business: Keeping Friends Safe
- March 2021: Friends: How are you doing?