Register with the library today for the Titanic Remembered presentation! Register here or call 248-524-3542.

(Updated 03/27/2012)

(updated 3/4/12)

The Friends of the Troy Public Library are the proud recipients of the Friends of Michigan Libraries (FOML) prestigious 2011 Outstanding Friends of the Library Award. The Friends will be presented with a plaque designating the award and a check for $400 at the FOML annual membership meeting on April 20, 2012 at the Okemos Library.

The Friends of Michigan Libraries selected the Troy Friends over 16 other groups based on their application showing the organization, “carried out an outstanding project or activities that had significant impact on their library’s services to the community.” According to Charles D. Hanson, President of the Friends of Michigan Libraries, the committee was “impressed with the successful activities that the Friends carried out that saved the library from closing.”

Troy Public Library Director Cathy Russ wrote in a letter on behalf of the Friends; “For their passionate advocacy to save the Troy Library, for involving and energizing the community in a positive and productive way (which continues to this day), for sharing their enthusiasm and love for libraries, and for their efforts in helping the library staff to cope with an extraordinarily difficult situation, the Friends of the Troy Public Library are a shining example of what a Friends group can accomplish. “

The Friends of the Troy Public Library started the first reading room in Troy in 1958 and continues promoting and supporting the Troy Public Library’s essential role in the community by fostering library initiatives through advocacy, volunteer assistance and fundraising.

The Friends of the Troy Public Library is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization. Membership in the Friends helps make their support for the library possible. Membership for an individual is just $10. Membership and volunteer information is available in their Book Shop and Friend Shop, and on the Friends website at www.friendstpl.org.

Updated February 8, 2012

Get a library card and get a free book from the Friends

February is Library Lovers Month at the Troy Public Library and The Friends of the Troy Public Library invite you to come fall in love with our award-winning library. During the month of February, residents who sign up for a library card will receive a coupon for a free book from the Friends Shop in the lobby or the Book Shop on the lower level.

Troy Public Library has something for everyone and the Friends are proud to support programs for children, computer and e-reader classes, Job-Seekers classes and activities that make the library a place to love.

The Friends of the Troy Public Library is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that promotes and supports the library through fundraising and advocacy.

Interested in volunteering a few hours a month? Visit us at our website at www.friendstpl.org, or on Facebook. You can also phone us at (248) 786-4580.

Membership in the Friends makes our support for the library possible. Membership for an individual is just $10 and membership information is available in both shops and on the Friends website.  Come to the Troy Public Library for a visit this month. You will love what you see and what’s free!

Christmas came early at the Troy Public Library in the form of a substantial donation from Meritor employees and private individuals.

The $2,331 donation, combined with an additional $300 donation from the Friends of the Troy Public Library, will be used for a collection of materials and equipment to enhance the library’s Special Needs collection.

Specifically, the money will be used to purchase large-print materials, including novels for children ages 8-12, non-fiction books on visual impairments and magnifiers to assist in reading. The materials will help children who have visual impairments such as albinism, dyslexia, ADHD, traveling eye, an inability to see color, and more.

The initiative for the project came from a group of southeast Michigan businesswomen representing Meritor, Henry Ford Health Systems, Chrysler, GM and Inforum. These women are part of a leadership class that included a community service project.

“Our project was to increase awareness and social acceptance of albino children. As we interacted with them, we were touched by the vision difficulties that is common with these beautiful children,” Meritor Engineering Supervisor Laura Klemm said. “Armed with pictures and stories, it was easy to appeal to the generosity of the Meritor community and other private donors.”

“This donation is incredible,” Library Director Cathleen Russ said. “It is amazing what this group of people have been able to accomplish, and the entire Troy community will benefit from their generosity.”

The library’s special needs collection was implemented in October 2007 – a gift of the Friends of the Troy Public Library. It includes traditional library materials such as books and DVDs, as well as interactive items that children with disabilities can use to enhance and promote learning and skill-building.

To introduce the community to the new collection, the library has planned a story time event for pre-schoolers through second-grade students on Jan. 21 at 11:15 a.m. Following the story time, individuals can tour the new collection. The library staff hopes to continue this story time in the future, if there is interest from the community.

“We will publicize this collection to the community, especially to the special needs teachers in the Troy School district and other school districts where Troy children attend school,” Russ said. “We are very fortunate to be able to offer these materials, thanks to this wonderful donation.”