The Chico Friends of the Library is an organization that relies on its dedicated volunteers and board members to make an impact in the community. As a valued board member of the CFOL, Marian Milling has devoted 10 years to volunteering at the Chico Library since she retired.
Having worked with libraries during her career, she experienced the negative effects the economy took on other library organizations firsthand and has found the CFOL to be a perfect way of helping the Chico community to keep its library thriving.
Marian’s history in CFOL
Marian moved to Chico with her husband from Chicago, Illinois 14 years ago in search of better weather and the quaint feeling of a college town. They were familiar with the Northern California area because one of their two sons had attended UC Berkeley to study engineering. Chico was exactly what they were looking for in their move to California and Marian has been a member of the CFOL for the last 10 of those years.
Marian plays an important role in the CFOL as the secretary and as a very active board member who attends monthly meetings and plays a part in making important decisions that impact the library. She also works on the CFOL monthly book sales, which are very successful and benefit the library greatly. She even volunteers to shelve books in the library.
The best part about working at the library
Marian’s passion for helping the community brings her joy and satisfaction. Committing three to four hours a week allows her to help put things in order and ensure that operations run smoothly. Even though she does most of her work alone, she did mention that doing a group activity is always great when the people she’s working with are nice.
Marian has dedicated so much of her life to libraries because she likes to think of them as an American tradition. She said, “(Libraries are) a place where you can go and don’t have to be invited.” Libraries are a cornerstone of a community and she enjoys being a part of that.
Favorite Books:
Some of Milling’s favorite books by Ethan Frome include:
- God of Small Things
- Remains of the Day
- The Poisonwood Bible