Friends provide consistent and flexible income through annual membership dues. This support provides many tangible benefits for the libraries.

Strengthening Library Collections

We provide funding for special acquisitions to enrich the Libraries’ collections. Additionally, we support the FSCL Preservation Fund to protect rare and fragile materials in the collections.

Library Spaces and Equipment

Over the years, we have provided new furnishings and equipment that were beyond the scope of the Libraries’ budget. We have also contributed to renovations both large and small, including the current major renovation of Neilson Library.

Supporting Students

Learning to take full advantage of library resources and services is essential to a successful academic career. The Friends encourage student attendance at Library Orientation with a token gift.

The lead-up to exams can be a stressful time, and students spend long hours in the libraries. The evening snacks we provide during reading period have proved to be a huge hit with the midnight oil crowd.

I Love My Library Day is held in mid-February with afternoon tea and fun activities for students to enjoy.

Students who work in the libraries play an essential part in day-to-day operations. We celebrate their work by plating a book in honor of each senior library assistant when they graduate.

Building Endowment

Providing for the long-term well-being of the Libraries has always been a strategic focus of Friends' support. We have created endowments over the years to address a variety of needs including acquisitions and conservation. A special focus has been to build up the FSCL Preservation Fund, created to repair and preserve valuable library materials.

Supporting Staff

An annual professional development grant enables staff members to pursue special training opportunities. A number of our instructional librarians have availed of the grant to attend the ACRL Information Literacy Immersion Program to hone their teaching skills. Other librarians have focused on training opportunities in curating digital collections and developing digital humanities programs.

Supporting the Smith Community

We underwrite access to the digital library JSTOR for Smith alumnae via the Alumnae Association website. See Services for Alumnae for information about this and other electronic resources the Libraries make available to alumnae.

We support research by providing travel stipends for qualifying visiting scholars to conduct research in the Libraries' Special Collections.

We host a number of fun and informative programs each year. See our playlist on YouTube.