To the editor:

As summer approaches, Bristol’s year-round residents are getting ready for the arrival of admiring crowds of visitors, gleefully taking advantage of everything our town has to offer. Merchants get an opportunity to make up for the lost time associated with the normally slower months. Our restaurants and bars are hopping, and our historic sites are on display for all to enjoy. And, oh yes, the traffic!

One gem of Bristol’s that has slowly become an undisputed, community resource center is Hope Street’s Rogers Free Library. During the summer, this nearly 150-year-old organization doesn’t miss a beat either. If anything, with our schools in recess, its activities and programs ramp up to provide out-of-school learning opportunities for kids in addition to its full menu of adult programming.

Rogers Free Library has been fortunate for nearly 50 years to receive financial support from The Friends of Rogers Free Library. “The Friends” is an organization, separate from the library’s governance, that was created solely to support and benefit the activities and functions of Rogers Free Library. The Community Grants Program of the Friends is one way the library adds local talent to its cadre of programming participants.

An example of this begins in June when the Association of Rhode Island Authors (ARIA), kicks-off its monthly “Writer’s Aid” series, recently funded through a Friends’ Community Grant. ARIA’s author-members have wanted to become a writing educational resource for RFL and its patrons. This partnership between the library and a statewide resource like ARIA, would not have happened without The Friends paying for this programming.

In addition to the “Writer’s Aid” events, additional funds have been designated to pay for “Mentor Assistance”. Applicants for this “coaching” would write a brief request for this assistance and pick their coach from a list of ARIA authors. This program will be open to adults and children.

This collaboration is an example of what helps make The Rogers Free Library a place for all. For more information on the first ARIA event, “Outlining Blockbuster Plots”, scheduled for Monday, June 17 at 6 p.m., go to rogersfreelibrary.libcal.com and search for the event’s name.

These will be “open to the public” events with advanced registration required.

Craig Evans
80 Aaron Ave.