Stephen Monroe
Friends of the Library, the volunteer organization that works to increase library resources of the University of Mississippi, is undergoing reorganization and looking ahead.
Stephen Monroe, UM assistant dean and instructional assistant professor in the College of Liberal Arts, has assumed the position of interim president of the group’s board. The position had been vacant since the death of longtime president John Pilkington in 2012.
Friends is in the process of updating membership fees, which have ranged from $15 to $1,000 for a lifetime membership. The board has an endowment, where funds collected through membership fees are used each year to purchase books and necessities for the library’s advancement.
The Friends’ board is also looking to increase membership and celebrate the upcoming 75th anniversary of the Friends group. To accomplish its goals, the board wants to bring fresh faces and new ideas, and heighten its use of social media to publicize new facets of the library. “We don’t want to change the board but add to it,” said Angela Barlow, development officer for the library.
Friends of the Library is focusing on four major areas of support: collections, facilities, technology/infrastructure and service. The group also plans to pursue funds to help continue to enhance and expand the library collections to support teaching and research on all campuses. Funds are also needed to help provide adequate space in the library for a growing student population and growing collections. Friends would also like to expand technology infrastructure for public and internal use, and it would like to support growing areas of service with space, equipment and software.
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