'Use Molesey Library or lose it' is message at Friends AGM

Thank you to all who attended the sixth Friends of Molesey Library Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 24^th January 2016. For everyone else here is a recap of what happened.
Chairman Pauline Morozgalska introduced and thanked members of the committee for their hard work and giving generously of their time throughout the year. She gave a short overview of the main events during 2016 as follows:

The weekly Friday Coffee Morning is firmly embedded in the Library timetable and a growing number of people appreciate the warm welcome and friendly faces.  Our dedicated team of volunteers who serve and provide the delicious homemade cakes are wonderful.

The Knit and Natter sessions take place on the third Tuesday afternoon of each month. The group either knit items for themselves or knit for their chosen charity. Friends have created a great atmosphere where experienced knitters share their skills with beginners and the inexperienced.

The Friends support the Library Book Club. Clare Newman liaises with Marian Gibbons to ensure that there is an interesting selection of books to discuss and co-ordinates the group. 

Generally, funds are raised through our Author Events and Coffee Mornings so that we can buy things for our library that are not funded by the Library Service.

We were not involved in a presentation ceremony for the children’s summer reading challenge. This was quite simply because there were no medals to award as SCC decided to just give a certificate – a great shame especially as uptake last summer was down on previous years.

John Coope arranged a fascinating programme of author events over the last year. We had police psychologist-turned novelist Dr John Marzillier, a talk on white Russians by VanoraBennett, and in April Susie Holliday and Louise Voss talked about crime writing and where their ideas come from. In September there was a full house for Hampton Court curator Tracy Borman’s talk on the Tudors, and in November local author Van Louizos whisked the audience back in time to WW2 and his experiences of Greece under the Nazis. More events are arranged for 2017.

The Chair introduced Kelly Sanai Badwal Surrey library Service, who thanked the Friends for purchasing vital equipment for the library (such garden benches and children’s chairs) and explained that, while visits to Molesey Library declined 1% in 2016 the number of books borrowed remained the same. She said November had been a particularly good month.

Steve Bax introduced the committee members and asked proposers and seconders for everyone to continue in their respective roles for another year. Pauline was reappointed chairman. She quoted The Reading Agency who claim there are great benefits to health and wellbeing from reading. “It’s said to help relax you, sharpen your mind, increase your satisfaction levels and even improve your relationships with others!” The message remains as ever, that if, as a community we don’t use this wonderful free facility we will lose it.   

Finally, Treasurer Liz Cooper highlighted the success of the Friends-run coffee and cake mornings (every Friday at the library) that brought in £1507 last year (all the cakes are baked by local volunteers!). The author events netted £485, but we had to spend £310 on repairs to the library sign after it was vandalised. In total the Friends have £3886.63 in the bank.