The Friends of the University Library served as a support organization for University of Toledo Libraries, with a membership comprised of faculty, staff, students, and members of the Toledo community interested in improving the library.

The Toledo Chapter of the American Association of University Women undertook a campaign to provide a $1 million endowment for the University of Toledo Library in 1936 by pledging to aid in sponsoring the new organization. Mary Gillham, longtime University Librarian, also assisted in the establishment of the group.

“…to benefit the library in any possible manner.”

Mission of the Friends of the University Library
Toledo Times
January 19, 1936

Work of the Friends group enabled the purchase of special and general collections and brought programs to the library. Within a year of the organizations’ founding, the library doubled in size. By the time Carlson Library opened, the library’s collection had grown from 40,000 volumes in 1936 to over 890,000 in 1972.

Friends participated in every major activity concerning the library, consistently operating since its creation in 1936. Ward M. Canaday, CEO of Willys-Overland and benefactor of the University of Toledo, served as the organization’s second president and continued to serve in that role for decades. Canaday represented the Friends at the groundbreaking of the new Carlson Library in 1971.

Despite its continuous activity, 1971 appeared to be a year of revitalization for the Friends of the University Library. The University approached its centennial, it had recently become state-supported, and several fundraising campaigns were underway. Additionally, the new library building opened in 1972. In response to these events, especially the centennial celebration, the Friends group planned programming around the theme of nostalgia. They redesigned stationery, applications for membership, book plates, tribute cards, and other publications and held two events for general membership in 1971: “The Night of Nostalgia” and “Booked for Lunch”.

Other activities involving the Friends group include the dissemination of a newsletter, The Deckle and later, Collections. They also sponsored exhibitions and the production of such publications as the “Tower’s Lengthening Shadow: 125 Years of the University of Toledo” and “Ezra Pound’s Pennsylvania.”

Available records indicate that member recruitment for the Friends of the University of Toledo Libraries continued into 2012, but since then it appears that the group has been defunct.