Richmond Library Friend of the Year

Press Release:

Norm Argulsky to be honored as RML Friend of the Year The Friends of the Richmond Memorial Library have named Norm Argulsky as the 2024 Friend of the Year.

Among many other volunteer roles in the community, Norm has served on the Richmond Memorial Library Board of Trustees for 12 years in the capacity of Trustee, Vice President and President, finishing his tenure in June of 2024.

Norm was nominated for this honor by library staff and Friends of the Library President Kathy Zipkin.

“Norm’s dedication to his community and outstanding leadership are unparalleled, and the library is so grateful for his years of service,” shares Assistant Library Director Samantha Stryker. “We’re so excited to honor him at the reception on August 3.”

Norm will be honored at a reception at the library on Saturday, August 3 at 11 a.m. All are welcome to join the Friends in honoring Norm. Light refreshments will be served.

The Richmond Memorial Library is located at 19 Ross Street, Batavia. Information about library services and programs may be found at batavialibrary.org.

Members of the "Tale for Three Counties" committee were presented with the Richmond Memorial Library's 2012 "Friend of the Year" award today at a public reception in the library's Gallery Room.

This award is given each year in recognition of a person or group that has gone above and beyond in support of the Richmond library. According to Paula Haven, Teen Services librarian and staff liaison to the Friends of the Library, "A Tale for Three Counties" met the criteria.

"This is their 10th anniversary," Haven said. "Not all library programs enjoy such longevity."

"A Tale for Three Counties" began when a group of public librarians from Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties got together and proposed an idea for an area-wide book discussion program. Over the years, they have garnered the support of such organizations as Genesee Community College, GoArt!, the Genesee Valley BOCES School Library System, Wal-Mart and Time Warner.

Each year, participants read and discuss books that meet the following guidelines (taken from the program's website): 

• It must be a work of fiction
• It must appeal to both adult and teen readers
• It must have literary merit as evidenced by professional reviews or awards
• It must present the theme of rural family life or local history
• It must have issues or topics to discuss
• It must introduce a new or relatively unknown author to readers

Another perk of this program is that the authors come to the area to give talks every year (click to read an article on the Garth Stein visit in 2010).

Here are some quotes from authors who have visited Genesee County for this program:

"Call: My agent on the phone telling me that my book 'The Call' had been chosen as the one book for 'A Tale for Three Counties.'

"Action: Cheered and then gladly accepted.

"Result: Was greeted so warmly by all involved with the Tale I considered that the place was possibly enchanted and I had crossed over into a better world."

-Yannick Murphy, author of "The Call"

"I really had the sense, during the three days I participated in the Tale for Three Counties, that the program was reaching all sorts of people who otherwise would not be reading literature, opening their minds to its possibilities and encouraging future explorations of books while also uniting the community. It was a great honor to participate in such a worthy program."

- Hillary Jordan, author of "Mudbound"