Friends Annual Meeting / P. T. Barnum Program Thursday, May 10 at 7:00 p.m. Large Meeting Room, Lower Level Free tickets available at the Checkout Desk.

Hear the story of the greatest showman on earth and his wondrous American Museum. After a very brief business meeting and election of officers, the evening features a special program on The Essential PT Barnum presented by William Pack. You’ll see an actual Feejee mermaid and vintage style dime museum exhibits. Mr. Pack promises it’s 100% true (mostly).

The Annual Meeting and P. T. Barnum program is open to everyone. If you’re not a member of the Friends, pick up tickets at the Checkout Desk. Join us for a fun evening and join the Friends too! Membership forms are available online and at the Checkout Desk.

Garden Day Sale Saturday, May 19 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. West Plaza Donate your plants, flowers and garden items Volunteer to help price items and work the sale All proceeds from this sale benefit the Wheaton Public Library.

If you’re looking for reliable plants to fill in the bare spots in your garden, the place to shop is the Friends of the Library Garden Day Sale. This perennially popular event features donated plants, new and used gardening supplies and tools, flower pots, and other gardening and outdoor treasures. Shop early for a wonderful selection of home-grown plants. All plants are donated by local gardeners and tend to be those that thrive in this area. In the past we’ve had hostas, ground covers, day lilies of every variety, herbs, mums, iris, yarrow and ferns. Gardening items donated and sold in previous sales included a push mower, a compost bin, wonderful garden frogs and plant containers of every description.

This event also features a gardening help desk staffed by Master Gardeners of the DuPage County Office of the University of Illinois Extension. These experts can identify plants and plant diseases and offer advice on what to plant where.

Now accepting donations! As any gardener can tell you, you really can have too much of a good thing! If your garden is drowning in daisies or loaded with lilies, you can recycle them. As you thin out your perennials this spring, pot them up for the Friends. The more plants we have, the better the sale! Plants of all varieties (and sizes) are needed as well as other gardening gadgets you no longer need. Plants should be identified and include care instructions if possible. Non-Plant Items: Anytime before May 19 Bring non-plant items such as flower pots and birdfeeders to the library during regular library hours Plants and Flowers: Bring plants and flowers to the library's West Plaza Fri, May 18 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sat, May 19 from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m.

Donate Today Flower pots & garden ornaments Gloves, shovels, rakes, trimmers and other garden supplies For the birds! Houses, baths and feeders

Volunteer to help price items and/or work the sale
Call Carolyn at 630-868-7592 or send an email to carolyn@wheatonlibrary.org. Let her know the date and time you are available.

• Friday, May 18
  Help price plants and other items during one of these times:
  • 10 a.m. to noon
  • 1 to 5 p.m.

• Saturday, May 19
  Help with the sale during one of these times:
  • 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. (setup and sales)
  • 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
  • 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
  • 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. (includes clean up)

About the Friends
Wheaton’s Friends of the Library group was started in 2003. Anyone can become a member by filling out the application and paying the annual dues, which range from $5 for Seniors and Students to $50 for Best Friends. The dues, along with all the money raised throughout the year, go directly to benefit the library. Current Friends members are asked to renew their memberships each May. A renewal letter is sent in April.

Our main fundraising event is the September Book Sale and many people join just to help with this huge undertaking. Over the past six years, the Friends have contributed over $60,000 to the Wheaton Public Library. Those funds were used for the library’s fireplace, the very popular Sunday Sampler concerts, Children’s and Adult Department programs, Summer Reading incentives, and a mural for the Children’s Department Story House, which was officially opened by the Mayor and Friends Board members on March 20, 2009.

Besides working on our fundraising events, volunteer opportunities include serving on the Friends Board or helping maintain Adams Park. This project, under the direction of Friends Board member Joan Reuss, started last spring and proved to be very rewarding. Those volunteering are responsible for weeding one quadrant of the park. Members who would like to participate in the project are asked to leave your name at the Reference Desk.

Become a Friend
Membership in the Friends is open to all with dues ranging from $5 for Seniors and Students, $15 for families, through $50 for Best Friends. Membership applications are available at the library or online.
New member application form | Member renewal form
(Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the application online.)