This year celebrates 20 years since the formation of Friends of the Library (FOL).

Then next year is the 20th anniversary of the home delivery service - a service of which we should be most proud. This brings the library to house bound residents and is organised by the FOL.

FOL has been operating since March 1983 and assists the library in a number of ways.

The regular FOL book sales and annual raffles raise money which has been donated to the library for the purchase of items such as large print books and talking book tapes, encyclopedia sets, and specific pieces of equipment.

Since its inception, the FOL has raised and donated over $30,000 to the library.

In 2001, FOL provided financial and practical assistance for the first Queensland conference for Friends of the Library groups.

This conference, known as FrOLiQ, atttracted 90 delgates from throughout the state and one of the outcomes was the formation of a regional organisation to promote and foster similar groups.

FOL's involvement in a range of activities has helped to raise the community profile of the library.

Bundaberg FOL has sponsored visits and workshops by authors and will sponsor the forthcoming visit of children's author, Libby Gleeson.

But the best known and most appreciated service has to be the home delivery service which has been in operation since March 1984.

The service started with a small number of recipients and deliverers, and has expanded to 60 volunteers delivering to 130 housebound clients.

Since March 1984, just under 300,000 items have been delivered.

Friends also select over 10,000 items per year for a number of local aged care facilities.

Like most voluntary organisations, FOL requires more volunteers. The increasing demand for the home delivery service is stretching the group's resources and more volunteers will help to ease the workload and improve delivery.

A brochure is available at the library which provides information about the group, its services and contact details.

The Bundaberg Library website provides further information on the local FOL group. Click here.