Announcements

Ribbon Cutting Book Drop Locker

FOAL Board Co-President Bonnie Johnson returns a book.

Whether you live or work on the south side of Ashland, or anywhere in our service area that extends to the California border, exercise at the YMCA, shop at Albertsons, BI Mart, or Dollar Tree, the new Ashland Public Library book locker and book return will make getting or dropping off your books, DVDs, etc. so much easier.

Friends’ contributions at work: Book locker and book return box at the Ashland YMCA.

At the annual Friends of the Ashland Library (FOAL) board retreat on September 9, 2022, the board first heard about the idea of a book locker installation in a location remote to the branch. The Ashland Library Branch Manager, Kristin Anderson, explained the concept and the benefits. A book locker would better serve south Ashland library patrons and help alleviate the parking shortage at the branch.

The board response was that we could provide funding.  After much research and negotiating for the location by the Jackson County Library District, on December 21, 2024, FOAL wrote a check for our contribution of $35,000 for the locker installation at the Ashland YMCA.

On June 18, 2025, FOAL board members Leslie Dawson, Elaine Hamlin, Bonnie Johnson, Cathy Prazenica, and Gayle Smashey, along with Kristin Anderson, Jackson County Library District board members and employees, and YMCA board members and employees, attended the official ribbon cutting ceremony at the Ashland YMCA.

FOAL members, we couldn’t have done this without you!

Your membership, your donations, your support for the used book sale make programs for children, teens, and adults, library furnishings, and, yes, book lockers possible. Thank you.

Friends of the Ashland Public Library Board of Directors