There’s a new volunteer at the monthly book sales run by the Friends of the Sequim Library but don’t let her diminutive size deceive you. She’s just as passionate about reading as her much older FOSL colleagues.
Lilly Janis, a 10-year-old fifth-grader at Greywolf Elementary School, is following in the footsteps of her grandfather, Jack Janis, as a FOSL volunteer who has donated his time for about a year to the library’s second Saturday book sales from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. As far as he knows, Lilly is the youngest FOSL in the nonprofit’s history.
“I love to read and I wanted to volunteer to be a good citizen to give back to my community and show other people how interesting it is to read,” Lilly said, sporting a red FOSL apron just her size.
On her first day, she confidently served as the door monitor, stacked books and tapes, moved boxes, took money and made change.
“I helped everybody find their books,” she added. “People asked me how long I’ve been volunteering, how I liked it, my age and stuff like that.”
Lilly said her favorite genre is adventure. Among her favorites are books in the “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Dark Lord” series.
“I like cliffhangers because I can keep coming up with ideas of what the ending is going to be. I like to use my imagination,” she explained. “The best thing about reading is learning about and trying to live in the characters’ minds.”
The best part of her first day was meeting the other volunteers and helping people find what they were looking for.
“I think I will volunteer for a year or two,” she concluded. She is the granddaughter of Jack and Jean Janis.
According to the FOSL website, https://sites.google.com/site/friendsofsequimlibrary/home, Friends of Sequim Library funds are used to support special requests from the Sequim Library for needed items and programs that have not been funded by the North Olympic Library System.
Some money also is used for FOSL operating expenses such as Friends building maintenance, office supplies, advertising, trash removal, electricity, etc.
FOSL membership is $10 per person per year. Sign up online or at the monthly book sale.
