What’s Happening with Friends!

Upcoming Event

Down the Rabbit Hole! 

We’re participating in the library’s Alice in Wonderland celebration and hosting Down the Rabbit Hole Mini Golf Fundraiser, an 18-hole mini golf in the library event cosponsored by Aqua-Tots Swim School. Come play mini golf in the library on Sunday, March 2. Tee times are available from 11 am to 3 pm. Characters from Alice in Wonderland will be running around the course, hopefully not late for this important date! The cost is $5 per player and includes a snack and beverage. Tee time reservations are needed.  

We are grateful to our co-sponsor Aqua-Tots Swim School and our hole sponsors: Down The Aisle Bridal Shop, Green View, Thompson Electronics Company, Brasky’s Bar & Grill, Knuckles Pizza & Sports Bar, Better Banks, Stanley Steemer, Hecht-Stout Insurance Agency, Creative Soul and Last Chance Bar & Grill for their support. 

Not a friend yet? Click here to fill out the membership form.

What We’ve Been Up To

We held the first 2025 General Membership meeting on January 9. At the meeting we: 

• Thanked the donors that participated in our End of Year fundraising campaign. We received two donations that qualified for matching gifts Caterpillar Foundation Matching Gifts program. 

• Announced that the Tonies are in the library! Purchased with a $1000 gift from the Friends, Tonie Boxes are screen-free audio players that play songs and stories and encourage listeners to use their imagination. The Tonies will be available for check out soon. 

• Reviewed events to build awareness of the Friends, including our National Friends of Libraries raffle, Gift Giving Tuesday and other end-of-year social media posts, and the Classic Titles Book Mug and special Friends bookmark sale. 

• Shared key points in our recently developed Gift Guiding Principles policy. These guidelines outline how our financial resources will be used to support the library. Two key points in the policy are that members will select gifts to be given to the library at the April and October General Membership meetings. 

View the meeting slideshow and read the minutes for more information. 

Mark your calendar to attend the next General Membership meeting on April 10 at 6 pm in the Community Room and help select gifts for the library.  

Don’t forget that “First Look Books” are always available to all Friends of the Dunlap Public Library to borrow.  “First Look Books” are advanced reader copies of books yet to be published. These books are available for all Friends of Dunlap Public Library to borrow. Look for the display in the small bookcase at one end of the Circulation Desk.    

Friends by the Numbers

$13,770 Total monies raised from fund raising, donations, and dues 

400 Popsicles donated for the summer foam party 

47 Active members 

•  12 – number of Friends living outside Dunlap 
•  4,433 – miles away from Dunlap for the Friend living the furthest away, we have our first international Friend!  

10 Gifts given to the library 

•  5 children’s puzzles 
• 2 Tonie Boxes and an annual subscription for Tonies
•  2 charging stations 
•  1 annual subscription to Illinois Libraries Present

4 General membership meetings 

1 Booksale