About the Friends

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, staff development, equipment, special 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. Although funding is generated by its biannual used book sales and charitable donations, it is 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.