History with Chico Friends
Diane Friedman, the president of the Chico Friends of the Library, has been involved with the organization for nearly 10 years. She came to Chico from San Jose in 2001 after retiring from her career as a software engineer at IBM.
Diane needed an outlet for all of her energy during retirement, which is how she got involved at the local library volunteering after a friend recommended it to her.
“So I volunteered and worked as part-time help [for the library],” said Diane, “and from there, the Chico Friends. I started by helping with their website and it kind of built from there.”
Why Libraries?
“I think people have a misconception that libraries are just for books,” said Diane.
The work the CFOL does in supporting the Chico library goes beyond just books, working with the library to expand its programs as well.
The struggle for funding has been an ongoing issue for the library. CFOL’s biggest goal is supporting programs at the library.
Most of the funding for CFOL is generated through its weekly book sales that are put on by a group of incredible volunteers, as well as private donations made by members of the Chico community.
Working with the Chico Friends
Diane views her time with CFOL as an opportunity to make a difference in the community.
“All the time at board meetings the library will have something they want to do for the community,” said Diane. “It’s such a pleasure to say ‘we can do that’ when they ask.”
And CFOL has been able to say yes a lot to the library’s requests.
Recently, the Chico Branch Library proposed a $70,000 remodel of the library, which CFOL was able to approve and help fund through the revenue generated by their weekly book sales.
“It’s nice to walk through the library and go ‘we did that, we did that,’” said Diane.