RELEASE: IMMEDIATE         DATE: 4/11/03

CONTACT: EMILY SILVERMAN, 545-0995

FRIENDS OF UMASS AMHERST LIBRARY'S
FIRST FUNDRAISER EXCEEDS GOAL

     Amherst, Mass. - The Friends of the UMass Amherst Library's first fundraising event, the "Dinner with Friends" at the University Club on April 5 was a great success, exceeding its $4,000 fundraising goal. Attendees included UMass Amherst faculty, staff, and administrators, and members of the community.

     According to Ruth Owen Jones '64 G'86, vice-president of the Friends board of trustees and a member of the event planning committee, "We enjoyed the company of 75 'library-loving folks,' ate a delicious meal, and got to listen to four wonderful local authors, all in support of the Library and the Library's collections." The authors-mystery writer Jane Isenberg, journalist Bruce Watson, poet Dara Wier, and children's novelist Nancy Hope Wilson-gave brief remarks and readings between each course of the dinner.

     Other members of the "Dinner with Friends" planning committee were Friends trustees Elaine Barker '63 G'69, professor of Geosciences Julie Brigham-Grette, and Dodie Gaudet '73, along with the evening's honorary chair, Cathryn Lombardi. There were raffles of autographed books by the four authors before dinner and an old-fashioned Yankee Book Swap after dinner. The Jeffery Amherst Bookshop sold copies of the authors' books and is donating a portion of the proceeds to the Library.

     Dennis Scott, head chef Jane Leary '94, sous chef Chris Johnson, and the staff at the University Club served an extraordinary four-course dinner. Many of the club's suppliers donated food and drink for the event, including Burke Distributors of Chicopee, VisStar of Connecticut, Commercial Distributors of Westfield, Thurston Foods of Connecticut, Coastal Seafoods of Vermont, and Arnold Meats of Chicopee.

     Ruth Owen Jones served as emcee, and Chancellor John V. Lombardi and Director of Libraries Margo Crist gave welcoming remarks. Attendees urged the Friends to make this an annual event; the Friends have booked the University Club for the first Saturday of next April (April 3, 2004) for the second annual "Dinner with Friends."

     The Friends of the UMass Amherst Library is dedicated to ensuring the strength and vitality of the Library - its collections and its facilities. Membership in the Friends is extended to each donor to the Library. There are over 7,500 Friends, and they are staff, students, faculty, alumni, retirees, and community members. For more information about the Friends, contact Susan McBride at 413-545-3974.