Friends are the
library’s best chapter

By Jon Campisi
Times Staff Writer

Their work can be seen virtually everywhere throughout the Free Library system, even though their faces aren’t always as visible.
And while they may work behind the scenes, it’s no secret that city libraries wouldn’t be what they are today if not for the volunteerism on the part of these dedicated community activists.
They are the Friends of the Free Library of Philadelphia, an all-volunteer group with chapters throughout the city. Not every branch has a Friends group, something Friends proponents are trying to change.
Then there are those groups, like the one at Fox Chase Library, that boasts an impressive membership count and has stood the test of time.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Friends of the Fox Chase Library. During a lunch gathering last week, four Friends board members and one active Friends volunteer (and prospective board member) talked about the strides the organization has made in the past two decades.
The Fox Chase Friends started almost exactly 20 years after the Fox Chase Branch was founded back in 1967. Today, it is one of the larger Friends groups in the Northeast, boasting a membership of 400-plus, according to Kathi Johnson, co-president of the group.
Not only is the membership count high, but the makeup is varied.
"Our membership is very diverse," Johnson said, noting that volunteers are not just those who live in Fox Chase. She said members come from all over the Northeast, as well as the surrounding suburbs. "We actually get people who sign up who don’t live in the neighborhood."
Clearly, this is a testament to the type of branch Fox Chase is, not to mention the central location, with nearby access to public transportation.
Another point of pride for Johnson is that the fee to join the Friends has not changed in the group’s 20-year existence. The annual fee to join is $3 for an individual, $2 for a senior citizen and $5 for a family.
Friends groups work to benefit their individual branches, helping to fund all of those programs and essential services that the city cannot afford to pay for at libraries. They do this through book sales, fund-raisers, bake sales — almost anything that will help generate revenue.
The book sales go over particularly well in Fox Chase, perhaps because the volunteers dedicate much of their time to ensuring that the inventory is diverse and easy to navigate through.
"There’s not many book sales that you go to where everything is categorized," said Michele Laganella, the group’s other co-president.
"It’s really a moneymaker," Johnson added. "It generates about three-hundred dollars a month."
Tina Lamb, the branch librarian at Fox Chase, said the work on the part of the Friends is invaluable.
"It’s a wonderful Friends group," Lamb said. "They’re very supportive of all the programs that we have here at the branch."
Lamb said the group is very self-sufficient and tends to go above and beyond the call of duty.
"They’re very organized, and they’re very willing to help out," she said. "They’re just a tremendous group. A couple of dynamos there."
Lamb said the fact that some Friends volunteers are themselves former librarians is a bonus.
Take, for example, Jane Gottfried. The New York native has been branch manager at both the Welsh Road branch and the Roxborough branch. She moved to Philadelphia in 1973 to attend library school, and stayed in the city after she was offered a job with the library system.
The recently retired librarian got involved with the Fox Chase Friends a little more than a year ago, around the same time her friend, Sue Bolesta, joined up. Bolesta, now retired, had also been employed by the library system. She had served the library in various capacities, including an 11-year stint as branch head at Fox Chase. She was also assistant chief at the Central branch in Center City.
Gottfried remembers the hiring freeze at libraries in New York during the early 1970s. The library system had, at the time, experienced a funding crisis similar to one experienced in Philadelphia many years later. So, in 1974, Gottfried headed to Philly and eventually secured an interview for a job at a local library. The person who interviewed her was Henry Kappenstein, who at the pinnacle of his career served as deputy director of the entire Free Library system.
During lunch last week, these many years later, Gottfried sat next to Dorothy Kappenstein, who was married to Henry for 33 years until he passed away 23 years ago — and the Friends member that others are trying to recruit onto the board.
They laughed at the irony of becoming friends all these years later, and the strange connection they share.
Kappenstein, a Northeast resident and articulate woman of 80 who stands barely 5 feet tall, said libraries couldn’t be what they are if not for the dedication of the volunteers.
"Libraries have tightly restricted budgets, therefore only the essential services apply," Kappenstein said of their funding formula. "The Friends groups were organized to supply all the little extras that make libraries more than just" places to take out books. "Libraries should be important centers of community activities, but the money’s not there."
Some City Council members, such as Brian O’Neill (R-10th dist.), are successful in obtaining grants for library services, the volunteers said. And other city leaders are friendly toward libraries as well. When he was a councilman, Mayor Michael Nutter was very pro-library, the Friends said. The question is, will he continue to be a proponent of the library system as mayor?
"We’ll see," Bolesta replied.
The volunteers discussed the various worthwhile programs that take place throughout the branches, such as computer literacy courses for seniors and baby signing classes — a sign language course for youngsters.
Johnson, the co-president, said money is also used to purchase equipment and even things that one would think would be budgeted for, such as essential goods.
"We’ve always had to buy things like toilet paper, paper towels," said Johnson, who has been involved with the Friends since 1994.
Laganella, the other co-president of the Fox Chase group, joined the Friends in 1993 but left five years later when she took on a new role as a Boy Scout mom. She returned to help head up the group in May 2007.
"Just when I thought I was out, they sucked me back in," Laganella joked.
Laganella actually grew up next door to Kappenstein; in fact, the two shared a front stoop. She credits her time with the wise little lady with her passion for volunteerism today.
Growing up in a blue collar family, Laganella said she wasn’t very cultured or well-versed in the arts.
Then came Henry and Dorothy Kappenstein, who sort of took her under their wings. They took her to the Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and, of course, the Free Library.
Today, Laganella is doing her part to ensure that places like the library will continue to be there for generations to come.
"I love my library," she said.
Now, all these years later, Laganella is trying to recruit Kappenstein for the Fox Chase Friends board. It’s not that Kappenstein is opposed, it’s just that she doesn’t drive, and getting around requires a reliable ride.
Nevertheless, Laganella still wants somebody of Kappenstein’s caliber to help continue doing the good work that’s being done at Fox Chase.
"I want her on the board because she’s just a wealth of information," she said.
As for the future of the Fox Chase group and Friends groups across the board, the volunteers emphasized the importance of having younger representation to help move the volunteers’ good work into the future.
"We need young blood that will take over," Johnson said.
As for Fox Chase’s success, the volunteers pointed to not only location, but the community in which the branch is located. Fox Chase is a "meet and greet place," where people don’t just come to patronize the library, Gottfried said.
For the Friends, working to benefit a branch that is already successful makes their task that much easier. ••
To learn more about the Fox Chase Friends, or the Friends of the Free Library in general, visit www.libraryfriends.info
Reporter Jon Campisi can be reached at 215-354-3038 or jcampisi@phillynews.com