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The Friends of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Libraries, formed in 1948, is one of the oldest university library support groups in the U.S. It includes people like you: alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents, and community members. You can get involved by attending events, volunteering for book sales, serving on a committee, offering a gift, or simply donating books. As a Friend, you help ensure that the Libraries remain one of UW–Madison’s strongest assets—a virtual backbone of university life. Join us to support our academic libraries! Through the generosity of Friends, materials and opportunities are provided to the campus community that would not otherwise be available.
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To involve the Madison community, the Friends host an annual Schewe Lecture and two to four public programs per semester featuring a campus author, library, or collection. The events are free and open to the public.
On the UW-Madison campus, the Friends offer a series of internal grants to campus libraries for materials acquisition, limited cataloging or preservation staffing, library professional development, special projects, events, and exhibits. The Friends provide travel assistance to scholars from around the U.S. and from other countries to give these researchers access to UW-Madison’s unique campus collections.
The Friends is a volunteer organization within the Libraries with a self-supporting budget of approximately $150,000 per year. Funding is generated by its biannual used book sales and charitable donations, though we are not incorporated as a separate 501(c)(3). The Friends office is staffed by a part-time administrator selected by the Friends Board of Directors. The Friends Board is composed of up to twenty-two volunteers from the campus and community and ex officio representation by the Libraries.
