Friends Membership

As of July 1, 2023, Friends of the Hennepin County Library is making a change to our Joint Membership program. To increase operational efficiency and better support all library locations, we will no longer be allocating $10 of a joint membership donation to an individual library. You can still affiliate your membership with your favorite library and membership donations will continue to support programs and collections at that location and all 41 libraries.  

• Why was the change made?  In partnership with the library, Friends of HCL decided to make this change in order to increase clarity and administrative efficiency. After an evaluation, we determined that it cost thousands of dollars of staff time each year to manage the accounting and administrative logistics for our joint member program. Making this change allows us to more effectively meet the needs of the library and more responsibly steward our donors’ generous support.  

• Will this negatively impact funding for my local library? No, your local library will benefit from our updated funding model, which accounts for the needs of all 41 local libraries to receive financial support for collections and programs each year.  

• Will I continue to be included on the membership lists with my local library Friends chapter? Yes, you can still affiliate your membership with your favorite local library. All active local Friends chapters will receive notification of your connection with your local library, and you will still receive communications from local Friends chapters about upcoming events and book sales if they choose to send them out.  

• Will I still be able to access member-only presales for book sales hosted by library Friends chapters? Yes, all current Friends members (regardless of local library affiliation) are able to access member-only presales at any used book sale.  Please go to https://www.supporthclib.org/book-sales for a listing of all upcoming sales.  

• Can I still restrict some or all of my gift to support a particular library location? Absolutely, we are still able to restrict part, or all, of your gift to support your local library if that is your wish.  If you’re sending your donation in the mail, simply indicate your wishes with a short note on your reply slip. If giving online, include your wishes in response to ‘Anything else you’d like us to know?’ on the donation form.