Friends of the Library Book Sales Help Fund Scholarships for Library Students

When you pick up a new book at the , you’re supporting their programs and the library—and you might even be helping a local librarian further his or her career.

The Friends of the Brecksville Library has been offering scholarships to individuals who are pursuing a library-related graduate degree for the past 10 years. Member Jan Strong said they started out by giving $3,000. This year, it was $10,000—$2,500 each to four people. The group had a base sum of money saved up when they began the program, Strong said, but it all comes from the group’s book sales.

“The Friends of the Library are not struggling,” said President Virginia Buerki.

There are no real requirements to the scholarship, Buerki said; the scholarship committee just looks for need and the intent to stay in the public library system after graduation. It began as a Brecksville-centric award, but is now open to all of Ohio.

The applications open up in the spring and are due at the beginning of the summer. Buerki said the group makes its decision soon after that.

Sue Grame, a teen librarian at the Bay Village branch, said the scholarship came right when she was trying to figure out how she’d make school work. It was a “kind of scary” time, she said, because she had recently cut her hours at work to devote time to studying. And three of her six children were in college for most of the time she was.

Going back to school helped the former teacher and stay-at-home mom serve the community better. She had been working at the Berea branch in the children’s room, but said she felt limited in what she could do. After getting a master’s degree in library and information science at , Grame was able to get her current job.

Valerie Kocin, another scholarship recipient, has a similar story. She was a teen librarian at the Parma-South branch, a career shift for her—she had previously owned her own company and worked in fundraising. She knew if she wanted to move up, she’d have to go back to school.

She also attended Kent State, and used the scholarship to help with tuition costs—she had two children who were also paying tuition at the time.

Kocin’s now the branch manager in Independence, and she loves working for the Cuyahoga County Public Library system. It’s an exciting time for libraries, she said, noting that “they’re morphing and transforming.”

The Friends’ final book sale of the year takes place from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the .