A volunteer-driven partnership with the Bryant Library.

Our Mission

Enhancing services and enjoyment for every patron.

The Friends of the Bryant Library exists to provide funds for equipment, materials, and programs that enhance the services and enjoyment of the Bryant Library in Roslyn, New York. We work alongside library staff to underwrite the extras that turn a good library into a beloved community institution — author visits, children's programming, museum passes, technology upgrades, and more.

Our History

Established in 1979, the Friends have supported the Bryant Library through book sales, membership drives, sponsored programs, and advocacy. Today we remain entirely volunteer-run, with 100% of donations going toward library needs.

The group began the way most library friends groups do: a handful of patrons who noticed the things the municipal budget could never quite reach — a second copy of the book with a twenty-person hold list, a visiting author's travel costs, craft supplies for a summer reading club. Founder Evelyn Pollack organized the first book sale in the library's meeting room, and the proceeds bought materials the library had been deferring for years. That basic model has not changed in four decades: neighbors donate books, volunteers sort and sell them, and the money goes straight back into the collection and the calendar.

What has changed is the range of what a library is asked to provide. Alongside books, the Friends now help underwrite e-book and audiobook licenses, museum passes that let families visit New York institutions for free, laptops and hotspots for patrons without home internet, and programming for children, teens, and older adults. The organization was formally incorporated in New York and received its IRS 501(c)(3) determination in April 2016, which allows donors to deduct gifts and lets us apply for grants on the library's behalf.

Our Vision

A Bryant Library that every Roslyn resident can rely on — where the collection reflects the whole community, programs are free at the point of use, technology keeps pace with need, and no family is priced out of a cultural experience. We work toward that vision by raising funds transparently and spending them in partnership with library staff.