The Friends of Middletown Thrall Library, Inc.


ABOUT US

We are a non-profit organization, organized in 1989, dedicated to supporting our library, Middletown Thrall Library. Membership dues and purchases of used books, CDs, tapes & LPs at our Used Book Store help the library acquire new materials, including collections, furniture, and computer equipment, in addition to funding special programs. All our activities are supported through the wonderful work of volunteers and members. If you would like to join our organization, please click here for our membership form. We welcome volunteers throughout the year, based on your interests and skills and our needs at the time.

For more information on our organization, volunteering, upcoming events, or making donations to the Used Book Store, please call 344-1255.



USED BOOK STORE



The Used Book Store is located next to Middletown Thrall Library, 11-19 Depot Street, Middletown, NY 10940. Please call the Used Book Store at 344-1255 and speak to Bruce Swenson, Manager, or Tom Aris, Assistant Manager, about donating very large quantities of books before dropping them off.

Regular hours: Tuesdays, 12-5 PM.
Wednesdays, 12-5* PM
Saturdays, 10 AM - 4 PM.

The Used Book Store, run completely by volunteers, offers a vast selection of donated paperback and hard cover classics, mysteries, science fiction, romance, history, philosophy, law, psychology, cooking, children's literature, biographies, and much more, including many titles no longer in print. It also has a small collection of magazines, videotapes, cassettes and LPs to browse. Donations arrive regularly and sales go towards support of Middletown Thrall Library and Friends' supported activities. Stop by and, while here, visit the beautiful library (formerly the Erie Railroad Station) and discover what vast resources await you!






DONATIONS



We welcome donations at the bookstore during regular hours. We are also seeking donations of large print books for delivery to area nursing homes. However, we CANNOT accept Reader's Digest Condensed Books, magazines, incomplete encyclopedias, textbooks older than 1990, or books in bad condition (musty, torn, stained, etc.). Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.




Library Programs

Please click here for upcoming programs at Thrall.


Friends Newsletters

Copies of the latest Friends newsletters are available at the Bookstore and Middletown Thrall Library.




Photograph of Randy Enos and Barbara Bedell

Randall Enos, past president of the Friends of Middletown Thrall Library, is shown presenting the Friends' 2003 Recognition Award for Outstanding Activity to Barbara Bedell, Times-Herald Record columnist. Barbara has made significant contributions to the overall success of the Friends over the past 13 years through her excellent coverage of the Friends' programs and special events. The presentation was made at the Friends' Annual Meeting & Program on May 15, 2003.




Recognition Award for Outstanding Activity

Awarded every May

Please click here for a printable form you can use to nominate an individual, group, or organization that has made significant contributions to the Friends of the Middletown Thrall Library.



Friends of Middletown Thrall Library
Win NYS Reading Association Award

The New York State Reading Association has announced that the Friends of Middletown Thrall Library Inc. won their annual Literacy Advocate Award for 2002. The Friends were nominated by the Amy Bull Crist Reading Council.

In the letter announcing the award it states: "Our panel of judges was impressed by the variety of programs and activities which your all-volunteer group provides for the Middletown community. Thank you for making outstanding contributions to literacy in our state. Friends of Middletown Thrall Library Inc. are truly literacy advocates."

This is the second statewide award given to the Friends in recent years. In 1998 the Friends were selected for the Daniel W. Casey Library Advocacy Award, given by the Empire Friends Roundtable, as the outstanding library Friends group in New York.



OVER A DECADE OF PUBLIC SERVICE


Click here to read about our first ten years (1989-1999) of community service.



PURCHASES FOR THE LIBRARY


During the fiscal year 2003-2004, the Friends have donated $18,987.25 to the library for materials, collections, and equipment. During the Friends' first decade from 1989 through 1999, the Library received over $100,000 from us. Our most unique donation is a beautiful collage that world renowned painter, printmaker, and collage arist Jonathan Tablot was commissioned to do by the Friends. It is the largest collage he has ever made. The 6 1/2' by 9' work celebrates the Centennial of the Middletown Thrall Library in 2001. This magnificent artwork hangs at the top of the stairs inside the library and depicts a history of THrall Library in a unique way. A key to the artwork hangs to the left of the collage. Please make sure to view the artwork on your next trip to the library. For pictures and story about the artist and installing the collage, visit his website at http://www.talbot1.com/thrall For a select list of items purchased for Thrall Library, please click here.



GRANT FROM WARWICK SAVINGS BANK

There is a table-mounted magnifying unit available for public use at the main library, thanks to a grant from Warwick Savings Bank Inc. awarded to the Friends of Middletown Thrall Library. The unit will magnify all types of printed materials from objects as small as a checkbook to things as large as magazine pages. It is located on the main floor next to the microform reader machines. It is very easy to use, and is available any time the library is open.

We hope that the addition of this machine will help make even more library resources available to visually-impaired area residents.

Middletown Thrall Library wishes to thank Warwick Savings Bank Inc. for their generosity, and the Friends of Middletown Thrall Library for their efforts in obtaining the grant and purchasing the table for the magnifier.



THRALL LIBRARY ONLINE


Please click here for the library's web site



LINK TO US AT:
http://www.thrall.org/friends



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