PIQUA — The Friends of the Piqua Public Library continues to support the Piqua Public Library in various ways over the last 13 years.

Ruth A. Koon, former president of The Friends of the Piqua Public Library, who recently stepped down after 12 years, submitted the following report on the organization:

The Friends of the Piqua Public Library. was established in 2011 for the purpose of supporting our local library as a cultural center for our community. We also support our library by promoting advocacy and encouraging interaction within our community by bringing some outstanding programs and events to our library for the public to enjoy free of charge. The Friends of the Library is an all-volunteer organization and there is no paid staff connected to this organization.

We have in the past brought such programs as Teddy and Edith Roosevelt, Crooked Handle Brewing Company, the Dianne Coble Ensemble and Winan’s Chocolates and Coffee just to name a few programs in the past few years. In 2024 we will be bringing Tom Lillicrap, owner of Bits and Pieces, to show us his technique for making rolled ice cream. We will also present Jessica Michna who will portray Helen Keller for a very interesting evening. For the past 10 years we have brought to the community a Holiday Cabaret in the Grand Ballroom of the Fort Piqua Plaza that has featured local talent as well as the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lima Symphony, the Springfield Symphony and this past December the Miami Valley Symphony. All our programs are free to the public except for the Holiday Cabaret which is the only fundraiser we do each year.

We have also chaired a successful renewal levy campaign for our public library and are responsible for bringing the Ohio Watercolor Traveling Exhibit to Piqua.

We continually support our library staff by celebrating Staff Appreciation Week each year, by purchasing innovative and educational supplies and equipment and by bringing entertaining programs to the library. This Christmas during Mainstreet Piqua’s Christmas on the Green, our organization gave 130 new books to the children who attended the event. Last summer the members of the committee partnered with the Library and held Pop Up Events for the young children during the summer along with the Salvation Army’s Summer Lunch Program. Our goal was to help with reading readiness in our schools. This summer to introduce the Children’s Summer Reading Program, the library will be presenting the African Penguins from the Newport Aquarium for the children to enjoy. We are happy to partner with the staff to bring this outstanding program to the Piqua library.

Becoming a “Friend” of the Piqua Library is very easy and more information is available on our website, www.friendsofthelibrary.com. You can also follow us on Facebook.

This year, after 12 years, I have stepped down as President of the organization and Barbie Spraggs is the newly elected President of the Friends of the Piqua Public Library. We will continue our quest to make our Library an outstanding amenity in Piqua.