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The Library needs your help
now more than ever!
Gift Items
| The Friends offers a small selection of gift merchandise for purchase, both on-line and in many Saint Paul Public Library branches. Proceeds from the sale of gift merchandise support The Friends and the Saint Paul Public Library. Minnesota sales tax is included in all gift prices. For mail orders, please include $4 for shipping and handling, and allow 3-4 weeks for delivery, or save the shipping charges and pick up your order at our office. After adding your items to the shopping cart, please select your preferred shipping or pick-up option at the bottom of the page and proceed to the secure checkout. |
Nothing beats a warm Minnesota day, hanging in a hammock and reading!
We can already picture this hammock hanging on your porch or between two trees in your yard. Wow! It is such a relaxing sensation to rock back and forth in this single person hammock. Goes anywhere you want it!
Features:
Bright and colorful, comfortable yet strong, 80/20 cotton/poly blend
Rolls up easily and tucks into its carry-along bag
Comes in a handy gift box
Size: 38” x 109” including ropes
Can hold up to 250 lbs.
Support your library while hanging around in the sun or shade, reading a good book!
$40
“Green” Book Bags
Go green with our new, reusable and
tear-resistant high-tech tote!
Roomy! 14” x 16” x 8”
Folds to Compact Size, with Snap Closure
Sturdy, Fiberboard Bottom Insert
16" Reinforced Handles
100% Recyclable Non-Woven Material
$5 ($2 directly supports your library)
Reuse, reduce & recycle with this convenient, tear-resistant and water repellent bag. It’s a perfect size to carry groceries or books. Minimize the effect that the use of plastic bags has on our environment.
Together we can make the world a little greener!
Plastic bags are handed out for the simplest of reasons and in the millions. They are cheap to make, lightweight, waterproof and convenient. But with this convenience comes the simple truth that plastic bags are practically indestructible. Each year, tens of thousands of plastic bags are dumped as landfill or litter. 21% of all landfills in general are made up of these bags. There they will remain for thousands of years! Or they'll fly out and float into drains, creeks and rivers, ending up in the marine environment, and killing marine life.
Some facts:
1. Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.
2. According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year.
3. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion)
4. According to the industry publication Modern Plastics, Taiwan consumes 20 billion bags a year—900 per person.
5. According to Australia’s Department of Environment, Australians consume 6.9 billion plastic bags each year—326 per person. An estimated .7% or 49,600,000 end up as litter each year.
6. Over 100,000 birds, whales, seals and turtles worldwide are killed by plastic rubbish every year
7. Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.
What you can do:
1. Reduce or STOP altogether using plastic bags.
2. Just say NO THANKS when you are offered a bag.
3. Tell the shopkeeper every time NOT to give out plastic bags unless it’s asked for.
4. Bring your OWN cloth bag – everywhere.
5. Reuse or recycle, DON’T let it end up in a landfill.
6. Start your OWN ADVOCACY campaign and convince your family first, then friends and even strangers to take up a similar stand.
7. Support your Library by purchasing several large-capacity, durable totes and use them every day, in every way. It’s good for you, good for the environment and good for the Library!
Large, Saint Paul Public Library Tote - $25 A durable book bag for big loads and long use (measures 22" wide by 15" tall, with 5" gusset at the bottom;
made of heavyweight 15 oz. canvas) silk-screened with the Saint Paul Public Library logo on the front. |
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Medium Classic - $12 Join the prestigious group carrying The Friends' classic book bag (measures 15" by 16" by 3", made of sturdy 10 oz. cotton canvas construction with double snap closures and strong, matching handles), now with an updated and fresh, new look! |  |
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Saturn Soft-sided Briefcase - $15 Sensible and stylish, the zippered main compartment offers plenty of storage for literature, and the front pocket — with quick-access velcro closure — offers extra space for things like business cards, cell phones and pens. It features an adjustable shoulder strap, tough grip handles and a clear plastic pocket on the back for your ID or library card. |  |
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Minnesota Book Awards Heavy Duty Book Bag - $15 Support Minnesota Authors... Read Local! |  |
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A Noble Task: The Saint Paul Public Library Celebrates 125! - $40
by Biloine W. Young, Foreword by Patricia Hampl
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With more than 200 photos and illustrations, A Noble Task tells the story of the library from the years when it was considered the bastion of the male elite (with separate reading rooms for men and women), to the current organization of 12 branches, a bookmobile and extensive Internet services.
The Saint Paul Public Library has become the people's university. Students access research on the library's computers; immigrants check on news from homelands on the other side of the world; Homework Help Centers, staffed with volunteers, assist teens with school assignments; new arrivals study for citizenship tests at the library; and neighborhoods look on their libraries as their community centers. |
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The value of our library - and all libraries - is summed up by St. Paul native Patricia Hampl in the book's foreword: "The only civic home we can really claim together is here, in our library, the house we've made for books and music, magazines and films, all the ways we tell each other our stories and our news, our discoveries and uncertainties, the beautiful building where we are quiet in order to hear all the noise and news of the wide world beyond us, the great world we think is elsewhere but which beats along our very pulse."
Heart of the Community: The Libraries We Love - $50
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The Saint Paul Public Library's own Saint Anthony Park Branch Library is featured in this prestigious new book - Heart of the Community: The Libraries We Love. This full-color, illustrated book, edited by David Levinson and Karen Christensen, is the first to sing the praises and show the beauty of North America’s beloved public libraries, recognizing that they’re being transformed by new uses—literacy programs, resources for new Americans and English language learners, homework help centers, small business resource centers, cultural programming sites, and much more. |
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Twelve Branches: Stories from Saint Paul - $8
| Twelve Branches: Stories from Saint Paul, was a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award. The book was written by four professional authors working with community members in the Saint Paul Public Library. For six months, the writers—Nora Murphy, Josie Rawson, Julia Klatt Singer and Diego Vázquez—visited each of Saint Paul's twelve library branches. People of all ages were invited to share stories about their library and their experiences in Saint Paul. The writers then faced the difficult task of sifting through these memories and forming them into stories. Facts blurred into fiction, truths were bent into tales, and soon the writers had a completed book on their hands. This innovative effort, called The Library Book Project, was coordinated by The Friends and published by Coffee House Press. |  |
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Library Logo T-Shirts
What better way to show off your library spirit than with a stylin' new t-shirt? Sporting the Library logo in orange and blue, these heavyweight, 100% cotton, black tees shine with spirit and fun. |
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Umbrellas - $13
Make a splash with the Friends' new, auto-open, compact umbrella. These bright yellow umbrellas are sure to add a festive touch to any rainy day. Fold-down umbrellas span to a wide 42" arc, and are perfect for travel, in the car, and for everyday use. Rainy days are best for reading, but when you have to go out, take your Friends umbrella with you! |
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Central Library and READ Posters
Adorn your walls with these colorful posters. The Central Library poster, designed by Friberg Design, features a historic photo of the Library set in a blueprint-inspired background. Suitable for framing, each poster is only $2.
The READ poster, created by 45 Degrees|Minneapolis, features a bright, full color photograph of a girl reading a book superimposed on the Saint Paul Public Library logo. The text of the poster is: READ - See the World Through Our Doors. Suitable for framing, each poster is only $2.
Shipping - $4
Just one flat rate for your entire purchase. Save this expense by picking up your order at our offices
For more information or to order by phone:
Please contact The Friends’ office at 651-222-3242, if you would like more information about any of the merchandise, or prefer to order by phone. The Friends office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Central time.