The Friends of the Durham Library is a group of volunteers that provides financial support to Durham County Library.

This summer, the Friends of the Durham Library was pleased to sponsor MUZIKI, a mini music camp at South Regional Library  August 6th through the 10th. The camp is for youth ages 6 to 12.  The camp is part of Durham County Library’s music-themed Summer Reading Program and is fully funded by the Friends of the Durham Library. As part of the Friends’ mission to fund innovative programs outside the library’s regular budget, it is a pleasure for us to support staff proposals like this camp. Joel White, Children’s Manager at South Regional Library, designed and proposed this summer music camp for children to explore different types of music and musical instruments. The camp will explore the relationship between cultures and the music that is woven into people’s lives. The camp is designed to foster a greater understanding of music as well as the cultures that produce it.

A program the Friends of the Durham Library funds is Conversar, Caminar y Comer – Talk, Walk & Eat. – a conversation and walking partnership. The program will pair adults that are wanting to practice speaking English and Spanish with native Spanish speakers. Participants in this intensive program will meet each Wednesday evening at the Makerlab and walk around the mall for an hour to practice speaking in English and Spanish with their partner. Each pair will be given matching clipboards with bilingual conversation starters, labeled pictures, etc. If the participants have children over the age of four, they can stay in the Makerlab to work on their homework, play educational games, or make crafts with teen volunteers. After each session, everyone will return back to the Makerlab for a small snack/meal. At the end of the sixth session, we will have a family style potluck dinner together and share what everyone has learned. This kind of innovative project that takes the talented library staff out into the community to share their expertise is exactly why we put aside some money every year to fund special projects. We look forward to seeing how the program turns out.