Friends Newsletter September 2026

Download Printable PDF Copy: FODL-Newsletter Fall 2026 FDOL Newsletter September 2026 PDF

SAVE THE DATE!

Friends of Delaware Libraries Annual Meeting
Monday, November 9, 2026 | 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Dover Public Library

Proclamations and Library Champion presentations will be happening that day. Information, fun and networking galore! More details TBA! We hope to see you there!

Friends of Delaware Libraries Meet with Friends from Sussex and New Castle County

When the Friends of Delaware Libraries (FODL) meet with Friends of libraries in each county, conversations and ideas fly all around the room! At the Route 9 Library (New Castle County), we were delighted to meet in the room “In Honor of May Jarmon”,
the first President of the Friends of the Route 9 Library.

Dynamic speakers — Candace Vessella, from Friends of Lewes Library, and Polly Sierer from the Newark Public Library — lead discussions that deal with what Friends want to know.
Some of the topics were:

• Getting New Members — the hows and whys
• Fundraising Ideas — always needed, especially in these times
• How to obtain more Volunteers
• Connecting your Friends group with businesses, organizations, and/or other Friends groups
• Making your Friends brochure work for your group
• Marketing — SO many great ideas for marketing
• And ideas on how to connect with other Friends’ groups

These are just some of the discussions that arose at the two meetings this spring and summer. We will be meeting with Friends from Kent County on September 14th at the Dover Public Library and hope to find more ways to communicate with each other.

After all three county meetings, FODL will post responses to what you and the other Friends groups — in each county — have expressed. FODL is your umbrella organization for all library Friends groups in Delaware.

Friends of Libraries Against U.S. Senate Bill 4925

The American Library Association has recently asked everyone who cares about our literary freedom to tell their senators that they oppose strongly Senate Bill 4925.

This bill is sponsored by Senator Jim Banks (Indiana), Senator James Lankford (Oklahoma), and Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama) from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. This “banning books” bill has been formally reported to the full House with a recommendation that it pass. The Senate would define acceptable works of literature for children and youth referring to reading lists from Compass Classroom, a publisher of Evangelical Christian homeschoolers. This list of “Classics Every High Schooler Should Read” does not contain a single Black, Latino, Asian, or Indigenous author.

American Library Association (ALA) states: “It’s ideological grandstanding and political overreach, pure and simple. This fear-mongering and censorship can’t become law. The bill is dangerously broad, withholding critical school funding for the mere mention of transgender people or nudity. Such a sweeping prohibition threatens health, art, and science education.”

Which leads us to the Unite Against Book Bans, sponsored by ALA, which “… is a national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship.”

Website and the Action Toolkit:
uniteagainstbookbans.org/toolkit

Watch our own Skip Dye (PenguinRandomHouse VP) and FODL Board member, talking about “The Making of an Advocate” from Library Journal

• YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=U8ZozkXTsNA
• Read: libraryjournal.com/story/the-making-of-an-advocate-censorship

Check out:
United Against Banned Books is coordinating a national “Let Freedom Read Day” on Saturday, October 10, 2026:
UniteAgainstBookBans.org/let-freedom-read-day-2026

Contact your elected national officials today!

Meet: Friends of Delaware Libraries’

Secretary: Mary Chute
Mary Chute has served in numerous capacities over her 40 years in libraries. (And that doesn’t even count her job as a library page in junior high!) For the first 11 years, she worked on the frontline in three Massachusetts public libraries in the roles of Children’s, Young Adults, and Reference librarians and as Public Library Director.

For the past 29 years Mary and her husband, Greg, have been residents of Newark, DE. Her introduction to building libraries’ strength and capacity from the statewide level began in Maryland where for 3 years she worked at the Division of Library Development and Services, specializing in strategic planning and public relations.

This led to 1999-2002, focusing on these areas among others while serving as the Delaware State Librarian — with Annie Norman as her assistant. For the next decade her perspective became national as she was selected as the Institute of Museum and Library Services Director, for Libraries.

In 2012, Mary returned to her commitment to statewide efforts by becoming the New Jersey State Librarian, a position from which she retired in 2021. Mary was eager to join Friends of Delaware Libraries upon retirement. She continues to be committed to the essential value of libraries and is a firm believer in the power of library users’ voices with regards to that value, especially when we share, combine forces and work together!

You can understand how lucky the FODL Board has been to claim Mary as a valued member.

Treasurer: Sue Gooden
Sue Gooden was a Children’s librarian and school librarian for over 40 years in Delaware and New York State. Currently she coordinates a small program through the University of Delaware that certifies teachers to become school librarians (so she still has an excuse to visit lots of libraries!)

Sue is a regular at the Hockessin Library and is a Friend there. Seeing the impact of the Friends groups at Hockessin, Newark, Kirkwood and Brandywine Hundred libraries made her see how the statewide Friends might tie them all together with a bigger voice.
The Friends of Delaware Libraries is very fortunate to have Sue as our Treasurer!

Membership in FODL

The Friends of Delaware Libraries welcomes new members and we hope you will join us. Now is the time to become a Friend of Delaware Libraries- Membership prices will be rising July 1, 2026 to Individuals: $ 15.00 | Family: $ 20.00 | Business: $100.00 | Friends of Libraries: $ 25.00

Download the application, fill out, print out, and send it, along with a check, to our Dover address:

Friends of Delaware Libraries
121 Martin Luther King Jr., Blvd. N;
Dover DE 19901

Join online using our Zeffy.com Membership option!

We can’t wait to welcome you!

Why Join?
We are the umbrella group of Friends for all libraries in Delaware.

We support all Delaware Library Friends groups by spreading your news on Facebook; we work with Friends groups to grow and be strong; we join with the Delaware Division of Libraries, the Delaware Library Association and EveryLibrary advocating for our Delaware libraries; we provide interesting programming for each county repeatedly. Look for news about that in this issue!