The Friends of the Jefferson County Public Library have kicked off a new promotion as part of its celebration of National Friends of the Library Week, Oct. 22 through 28. Thanks to the generosity of Fulcrum Publishing (Golden, Colo.), every new and renewing member through the end of 2007 will get a copy of Colorado author and librarian Eleanor Gehres' title, The Best American Novels of the Twentieth Century Still Readable Today, a $25 value.

Sam Scinta, Jefferson County Library Foundation board member and publisher and CEO at Fulcrum, wanted to give Jefferson County library supporters an added incentive to join the Friends, who have set a goal of 1,000 memberships by the end of 2008.

"The Friends do an amazing job of raising money for library services, as well as creating greater awareness of the Library and its resources throughout the community," states Scinta. "Without their help programs such as The Traveling Children's Library and the Summer Reading Program would not be possible."

The Friends of the Jefferson County Public Library raise close to $200,000 annually through two major used book sales, holiday book boutiques and the Friends Book and Gift Shop located at the Belmar Library. Currently more than 750 community members contribute annually to the Friends, and over 20 percent of these contributors actively volunteer their time.

Friends membership recruitment will continue in November and December with displays at most libraries. Information will be available about Friends events and benefits, and member applications will be on hand. Starting membership is just $15! Check out the Friends event calendar at www.friendsofjcpl to find out more about upcoming programs, including the Colorado Author series, Writers Workshops, Knott's Kids programs, book sales and more. Contact the Library Foundation at 303-275-2240 for more information about how to become a member of the Friends.