The State of ALFA
Astoria Library Friends Association
Annual Meeting
March 31, 2026
Welcome to the Astoria Library Friends Association annual membership meeting. We are ALFA, for short, and I am Pat Thomas, ALFA board Chair. I am thrilled to see so many people here tonight in our newly renovated space, and hope that we can answer your questions about ALFA.
Mission Statement:
The Astor Library Friends Association (ALFA) is a 501 (c)(3) volunteer-run, non-profit organization that provides resources and funding for community programming beyond the scope of the library's budget.
Over the year the library underwent renovation, so to ALFA worked to revitalize itself. We have added new board members (and lost valued, long-time members) as we revamp and renew our goals. Thanks to our webmaster Fred Pot, we have added a website—astorlibraryfriends.org—and are updating our membership database. Spurred on by our grant from United for Libraries/Penguin Random House, and a major donation from Jeff Newenhoff of City Lumber, we have purchased gardening equipment for our Library of Things.
Board members Patsy Oser, Gina Mattioda and Miki Frace have spearheaded the organization and opening of ALFA's new Bookshop. The Bookshop will be open Saturdays from 10:30-2:30. Book donations are welcome (no magazines, encyclopedias, or dog-eared book), please, preferably during Bookshop hours so that we don't overburden the librarians.
Treasurer Dave Ambrose reports that ALFA's copy machine is generating pre-renovation revenue again for library programs. Later in 2026 we plan to start a membership drive to help expand our contributions to the library. All this to help bring more and better programs and services free to the community.
To continue, we need the help of past, present and future ALFA members. Most of our contact information is more than ten years old. If you are a past member, please contact us (info@astorlibraryfriends.org) so that we may include you in our mailings. To help attract new members and encourage current Friends participation, we have set a regular meeting time of the second Wednesday of each month at 2:30. We plan to schedule special meetings for those who can't attend during regular business hours, so please let us know what is good for you.
And, last but not least, we are searching for new people. Do you love books, have ideas and a few hours each month? We want you! Most importantly we are looking for volunteers with database, technical, social media, and bookkeeping skills. We need volunteers for the Bookshop, people to help set up events, people to help maintain the Library of Things. We are looking for event cookie bakers! Most importantly, we are looking for people with ideas and the desire to help support the library.
Look for ALFA members at library events, at the Bookshop, contact us by email, through the website, (www.astorlibraryfriends.org) or become a members by filling out a remittance envelope at the library—we look forward to talking with you. And, we now have ALFA buttons., showing off our logo .Be among the first to show your support of ALFA and the library by buying one tonight!
Patricia Thomas
ALFA Board Chair