Why a Tech Executive Volunteers for This Small-Town Library

I'll be honest with you about something.

When I first got involved with FOWL (the Friends of Westport Library), I wasn't sure what I'd find. I spend my professional life in the world of business systems, technology strategy, and organizational leadership. I'm used to thinking in terms of scale, efficiency, impact metrics.

A small-town library volunteer organization didn't seem like obvious territory for someone with those instincts.

I was wrong.

Westport Library Circulation Desk

What I've found at FOWL is a masterclass in community infrastructure, the kind that never makes headlines but quietly holds a place together. The library is where toddlers in Westport hear their first stories read aloud by Miss Bonnie on Wednesday mornings. It's where retirees gather every Thursday afternoon to craft and connect. It's where a family who can't afford a summer of museum admissions borrows a pass and gets their kids to the aquarium anyway. It's where books arrive at the door of someone who can no longer leave the house.

None of that happens by accident. It happens because people show up for it.

FOWL is a 501c3 nonprofit that raises money through member dues, book sales, Michael's Book Store, and community donations. Those funds flow directly into the library's programming, materials, museum passes, and services. When you become a FOWL member, you're not just joining a mailing list. You're joining the infrastructure.

Membership levels:

• $15: Senior (61+)

• $20: Individual

• $25: Family

• $50: Sponsor

• $100: Patron

• $250: Bibliophile

  
  

Every level matters. A $25 family membership directly supports the programs that served your neighbor's kids this week. A $250 Bibliophile membership is a statement of belief in public libraries as a public good, and as someone who thinks hard about institutional impact, that statement matters.

There's also a Member Preview Night for the Annual Book Sale on September 11. You get first access to the best books before the general public. That alone is worth it if you love books.

I volunteer with FOWL because I believe in using the skills you have for the community you're in. I can help with systems, with communications, with thinking strategically about how this organization grows. Other volunteers bring other things. Together, we keep something alive that a lot of people take for granted until it's gone.

If you live in or around Westport, the library serves you whether you know it or not. FOWL makes that service possible.

Join us.

Become a Member or Renew

or Mail a check: FOWL, P.O. Box 3342, Westport, MA 02790

In person: Bring payment to the library at 408 Old County Road