KAILUA-KONA — From programs that inspire residents to find their place in their community to ensuring staff have the skills and knowledge they need to make their libraries centers of learning to book sales that enable continued support of local libraries, Friends of the Libraries, Kona, or F.O.L.K, plays an instrumental role in helping libraries live up to the motto of the Hawaii State Public Library System: “Where you belong.”
“The library is vibrant, it’s immediate, it’s a service that is offered to the entire community for everything from income tax forms to self-help to color printers to charging stations,” said Suzanne Dmytrenko, program chair of F.O.L.K. “The library is not just about books anymore.”
The local organization comes under the umbrella of the Oahu-based Friends of the Library of Hawaii, which is dedicated to supporting the state’s public libraries and lists 40 affiliates throughout Hawaii on its website.
And over the years, F.O.L.K, which was incorporated in 1988 and today counts more than 300 active members, has demonstrated itself a critical part of the local libraries’ ability to bill themselves as gathering sites for the communities they serve.
“I would definitely say that it’s more than just stopping in to pick up your book,” said Pamela Wang, F.O.L.K. president.
“Absolutely,” added F.O.L.K. at-large board member Fred Hornbruch.“It’s a meeting place.”
Those opportunities include the organization’s regular book sales on the Kailua-Kona Public Library’s lanai, which bring dozens — if not more — from all parts of the community.
“As we get into the winter months with the snowbirds back,” said Ken Guerra, who chairs F.O.L.K’s ways and means committee and volunteer coordinator, “we could be well over 100.”
The next sale is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 17.
In addition to a great opportunity for residents and visitors to grab a new read, those book sales are a boon for teachers, who, if they bring their teacher ID, get 10 free books plus a 30-percent discount on all purchases.
That effort to bring people in also extends to events hosted at the libraries, often bringing in those who might otherwise rarely come through the libraries’ doors.
One success story is the community seed library, which offers flower, herb and vegetable seeds to members along with regular educational opportunities for local home gardeners.
“We have this whole crowd of people who were the green thumb people of Kona, who may have come here occasionally but not very regularly, who are now clamoring for more programs and looking through our huge gardening sections and taking out books,” Wang said.
And knowing the impact a lack of transportation can have on a child’s connection to their community, the nonprofit’s effort also extends to helping get them to the library.
F.O.L.K. currently funds the “Friendly Bus,” which picks up second-graders, along with some third graders, from West Hawaii schools and brings them to their closest library branch. And Wang said they’re now expanding on that project to also fund transportation for, as an example, youth at The Homes at Ulu Wini, a low-income rental and transitional housing complex, and offering programs aimed at teens such as resume writing as well as applying for college and jobs.
“We’re trying to think of things that will interest them and cause them to want to come back,” Wang said.
Denise Stromberg, Kailua-Kona Public Library branch manager and librarian, said the efforts by F.O.L.K. go a long way toward ensuring the libraries are able to position themselves as a place for the community.
“We’re no longer just the depository of books,” she said. “We are an information center. The community can come and learn, do reference work, look up anything that they’re interested in. We’ve got print materials, online materials, databases, the Internet.”
And the programs, she said, also can turn interested neighbors into repeat patrons.
“My feeling is if you can get people in the door to explore whatever your program is, then they’re going to look around and they’re going to say ‘Oh gee, I didn’t know you have DVDs for a dollar; I didn’t know you have CDs or a Hawaiiana section or magazines and newspapers,’” Stromberg said. “Once they get in the door, then they can explore all the other things that the library has to offer that they might not have come in for.”
F.O.L.K. also helps libraries financially. When it comes to programs and needs that aren’t covered by state funds, said Guerra, “we sort of fill the pukas.”
From 2013-17, the organization gave more than $107,000 to the Kailua-Kona and Kealakekua libraries, said Hornbruch. This year to-date, they’ve given almost $28,000, and he said they would continue to give money throughout this year and the next.
Those funds help the library with purchases like chairs and vacuum cleaners that keep the library a safe, clean and welcome place for community members and provide training opportunities for library staff.
“They bring back some great ideas,” said Dmytrenko, “and it just enriches our libraries by us being able to support that professional development.”
F.O.L.K. volunteers also supplement the work of library staff, giving hundreds upon hundreds of hours of their time to the libraries.
Wang said they continue to seek volunteers to assist with everything from mending books to sorting incoming books and shelving books. And as those volunteers continue to contribute critical support for the libraries, it will continue to boost the capacity for the libraries to offer its patrons a place they belong.
“Membership has doubled in the last five years,” Wang said. “I think we must be doing something right.”
Find more information about F.O.L.K. online at www.folkhawaii.com.