The Annual General Meeting of the Friends of the National Library of Australia was held on the 7 December 2004. Jenny Gleeson, the Chair of the Friends, spoke about the Friends activities for the year and recent efforts to increase the membership which now stands at approximately 1430 members. Jenny reminded the audience of the essential reason for being a member of the Friends of the National Library of Australia. ‘We exist for the Library and not vice versa. All of us who are members should ensure that we bring this institution and its collections to the notice of the general public at every chance we get, so that its importance to the nation is not lost.’ The Director-General, Jan Fullerton accepted a $10 000 cheque from the Friends that will go towards the funding of the new Treasures Gallery. Thank you to all Friends members for their support and assistance in raising such a substantial amount of money. Jenny also presented Mary Dickenson, a volunteer guide with the Library since 1998, with the first Life Membership to the Friends. Mary has been a valuable and treasured member of the Friends for many years and recently made the decision to move to Brisbane. We wish her all the best in her new home. The committee for 2005 contains seven new faces and five members carrying over from last year. On December 14, the new committee met for the first time and the office bearers were elected. Warwick Bradney is Chair of the Friends for 2005. A retired lawyer, Warwick has been a member of the Friends from 1996. He has served on the Friends Committee for five years, including two previous years as Chair. John Chapman, the former Treasurer, was elected Deputy Chair, and Terence Birtles was elected as Treasurer. Margaret Nichols will continue with writing the monthly newsletter. This year the Friends will be holding a number of new events. Our literary series Author! Author!, featuring key contemporary Australian writers, will begin in March with the well-known author John Birmingham. John may be best known for his success with He Died with a Falafel in His Hand, which became a bestseller and was also made into a film staring Noah Taylor. John will be at the Library on Sunday 6 March at 2pm in the Theatre. The event will be followed by refreshments in the foyer and John will be available for book signing. Bookings are essential through the Friends Office on (02) 6262 1698 and there will be a cost of $10 for non-members and $8 for Friends members. LAUREN
DONALD |
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