 Aloha and welcome to Books, Books, Books. I'm your host, Mihaila Stoops, and my guest today is Flo Wigger. She's the president of the board of directors of Maui Friends of the Library. Flo, thank you so much for joining me today. And before we dive into our conversation, I want to ask, how are you? How are you coping with everything? And how are your volunteers? In many ways, it's easier for me simply because we didn't go through everything that a number of the volunteers went through. And we have people who lost their homes. We did not lose ours. But losing the bookstore and losing the library was very, very devastating. And I'm finding that what ends up happening is that I'll feel okay working on projects to get us back up and going. And then all of a sudden something will happen. And it'll really remind me of everything that we've lost. And then you go through this, oh my god, what are we going to do? It's sort of like PTSD. It's that same kind of thing. But again, we were very, very lucky in terms of the fires stopped about three quarters of a mile from our house. And so we knew we were going to be okay. But it was a very difficult time. Even with that, my husband was a physician for years at Pfizer. And he ended up finding out about 10 of his patients perished in the fire. And a number of people that we know in the community, excuse me, a number of people we know in the community are really suffering. And as you mentioned, several of your volunteers have lost their homes. For our viewers, I want to inform them that the only bookstore in Lahaina was managed by my friends of the library. And for me as a Lahaina resident, it was not just a place where I could go and buy old books, used books, also new books, a lot of Hawaiian books. But it was also a gathering place and a place to meet other people that love books and to talk about books. And the building is no more. And I assume we also lost all the books. Am I right? Oh, yes. Everything, everything in the store was down to ashes. Absolutely everything. There's nothing left, nothing. And Maui friends of the library is a non-profit that supports all the libraries in Maui. And as a matter of fact, a few years ago, there was a Maui friends of the library, I believe, was the fundraiser for a major remodeling project of the library and supported the library with books. And tell us a little bit more about this nonprofit. It is a nonprofit. Maui friends of the library came into existence in its initial type way back in the early 1900s. And there were people who had moved to Hawaii, had moved to Maui, lived in Lahaina, and they wanted to start book clubs. And they would gather at someone's home and doing the way book clubs do today. They would read books, they would share food, and they would talk about books. And this went on for years and years and years. And in the 1950s, when more libraries began to emerge in Hawaii, Maui friends of the library became incorporated as a nonprofit. And the whole way that we function is with volunteers. No one, no one makes any money in terms of getting paid or anything like that. So all of our, all the people who work with us are volunteers. And what we do is take donations, all kinds of donations. And frequently, people were just bring in boxes and boxes of books. They'd say, oh, we're cleaning out our attic, or we're doing this, or we're moving someplace. And we have to get rid of the books. And so they would put them all in boxes and bring them to the library, the Maui Friends Library Bookstore. And the oldest one that we had, the Maui Friends Library Bookstore, was a used bookstore, which existed in Lahaina. In fact, when I moved here 30 years ago, there was that bookstore. And it was a used bookstore, Joanne Carroll ran it. And it was a for profit bookstore. And Joanne had had it for years and years and years. And finally decided that she just didn't want to have all the hassle of owning a bookstore. So she turned it over to Maui Friends Library, just gave it to us. And so we were for a long time located at the Worf Cinema Center. And then a couple years back, well, I think now about four years back, we became part of the outlets in Lahaina. And then first location, first location. And then two years ago, we moved to the location that we just lost, unfortunately. But that's still how we operate. Our function, as it's stated in our 501c3, is that we provide support to the libraries on Maui. So that we get books, we price books, we put books on the shelf, we sell books. And then we have that money sitting there. And the libraries on Maui can come and ask for support in things that they want to do in their library. So for example, at our meeting two weeks ago, we just authorized a fairly large expenditure for the library in Kahalui, who has not been opened, I think has been about two and a half years that we've been waiting for it to open. And now it's even more critical. So we gave them a fairly large sum of money so that they can move ahead with the remodeling. We also supply scholarships for people who want to become librarians. And they have a very good program at the University of Hawaii. And you can get classes at the Maui campus. And so we provide scholarship assistance for people who want to do that. Consequently, we have people working in the libraries all over the island that are scholarship recipients from Maui Friends of the Library. That's our whole function is providing support to the libraries on Maui. That's what we do. Wow. I did not know about the scholarship. That's absolutely amazing because you're helping them function, basically. Having the space and the books is not enough. You also need to have the librarians and things tied labor market. That makes a lot of sense. That. Well, and what we have found is that because of the relationship that UH has with all of the different colleges throughout the state, that they've got such a fabulous, online learning program. And then we augment the online learning with students being able to take classes at the college, the Maui College. And that makes a huge difference. And so people are very enthusiastic about wanting to become librarians. And it's something then that we are able to provide the academic training. And of course, the state then is able to have people that they can employ as librarians. Because that's part of the relationship that we have with the state library association is that we train people to become librarians, then they can get people under the library system and they become employees of the state library system. So it's very beneficial to both of us. Are you aware of any plans for a new location for Lahaina Library or are there, is anybody thinking about what's next for the library in Lahaina? Oh, yes. Oh, yes, we are. We were having meetings constantly with the state library, state librarians, Stacey Aldridge, and then people on her staff and people over on Oahu that are very interested in what's going to go on with the library system on here in Lahaina on the west side. And part of what we're trying to come to grips with is that, and you know this, as I think everybody who lives in Maui knows this, that the state budget is always severely taxed. And the Department of Education doesn't have enough money to do everything it's supposed to do. The libraries don't have enough money to do everything that they're supposed to do. And so part of that whole agenda now has become even more important because we've got to get another library in Lahaina. And we've got to get another bookstore in Lahaina someplace. And how are we going to do that? Right before the fire, I think like two weeks before the fire, we arrived at a decision, our board arrived at a decision, to develop a bookstore in Kihe. We did not have one in Kihe. We have bookstores in Kahalui, Pune, we had one in Lahaina. But those were the bookstores that we had on the island. And so we realized that Kihe is one of the fastest-growing locations on the island of Maui. And so we said it's time now to get a bookstore over in Kihe. So we worked on that, identified a space, negotiated a lease agreement, and that's been signed off on. So when you know now we're going to have a bookstore in Kihe, which we know people are going to use, we've got to have a bookstore on the west side. There's absolutely no question. The bookstore that we had in Lahaina was very, very profitable. It was very good. Who is coming to the bookstore? And I'm asking this for our viewers because I actually volunteered one summer with my daughter as a salesperson and I had an amazing experience there. And I've met a lot of the patrons, but I'll let you tell us who was using that store. The demographics were very, very mixed. A lot of people who live on the west side mixed with tourists because the boats would come in to the harbor. And people, in fact, right before the fires happened, I was working a shift in the afternoon and a couple came in and they had a whole sack, just a big bag of books. And they said, we're bringing these back. And I said, oh, do you live here? Have you bought books here? They said, no, we don't live here. We live in New York, but we come to Maui every year on vacation and we come to your bookstore and we buy books and we take them home and we read them and now we're bringing them back. They said, okay. And they said, no, we just want to turn them in, but we want to buy more because we're on the ship and we're going to be going all around. And by the time we get home, we're going to have a lot of books to be able to read. Okay. So we would have this real diverse group of people. And the thing that we did, and it's something that each of the bookstores can do on their own. They can sort of figure out how they want to run their store. And one of the things that we always were doing in Lahaina, which I thought was very good, was that we would collect a lot of books for children. And we had a little section in one part of the store and they were free books for children. And so we had this box. And when people would come in and they'd have children with them, the first thing I would do, and I would advise the other workers to do this, I said, take the parents or whoever is in charge of the children, bring them over to that section, tell them these are free books, the kids can go through, they can pick out whatever they want, and they're free for the taking. Well, those kids would come back over and over and over again. And sometimes they'd bring books back and sometimes they wouldn't. But they knew this was a place where they could go and they could get free books. Because a lot of people who would come into the bookstore were very interested in their children being able to read and get a good education. And you had people that were working two and three jobs to support themselves and their families, but they still wanted books. And so when we could identify people that we thought really needed to have the educational experience, we would make sure that they could have that educational experience. I was surprised by the white selection of books. You could find brand new books, meaning new titles, not. And then you could find rare books. I remember there was a book that was priced at $175. And it was a rare edition. I don't remember the title now, but obviously it was a rare edition. And also, you shared with me before the show this story of these people that walked in the store and actually bought a banned book. It was a book that was banned in their state that they resided. Yes, it was a book about Kermit the Frog. And of course, one of the things that's very big about Kermit the Frog and this is when Jim Henson was still alive and he was working with Kermit the Frog. And the rainbow connection is one of the things that people know about Kermit the Frog. And this couple came in and they wanted to know if we had that book. And I said, well, actually we do. And it's one that sells quite well. So we keep reordering so that we keep that book in stock. And the woman said, well, we really wanted to get it, but she gave me the name of whatever state it was, Tennessee or Kentucky or Alabama, one of the states over there. And she said, that book has been banned. And I said, well, we don't have any banned. We don't believe in banning books. So we have absolutely all kinds of books. We have books that I think some people would like to see banned. We have books that other people would, but we've got them all. And we encourage that people broaden their scope and read as much as they can. There were cooking books, there were books on self-help and how to do this and how to do that. It was really a very, very wide range of books. And the fun part for me when I work there as a salesperson, you know, when I had some free time, I would go and peruse the shelves and open up a book and read it. And it was a great experience. So I do want to put a blog here right now, you know, if any of you viewers want to volunteer at any of the my friends of the library bookstores, please do. It's an awesome experience. Oh, and well, the other thing that's so, so good about it is that it really, it really increases relationships between the people who work in the bookstore, the volunteers, and the local community. Because so many people come in and they end up talking with the volunteers. And the volunteers will say, Oh, and if you're interested in that kind of book, maybe you'd like to read this author. And so there's this continual dialogue that goes back and forth, which is so worthwhile. It's so worth. Yeah. And you carry a lot of Hawaiian books as well, old, new, and that opened another number of people walking in saying, you know, I want to read a good book about the history of Hawaii. I want to learn more about the history of Hawaii. And then I would, you know, pick a few and recommend like, you know, this is a more detailed read. This is an easier read and so on. It was the Lahaina store, the one I'm most familiar with. It was a great opportunity to educate local residents, but tourists as well. Oh, yes. Well, and, and we have, we have a wonderful, wonderful collection of volunteers across the three stores that we, well, two stores now, but we add three. Punene, which is located out there on the other side of the education building at Punene, and you have to go down a dirt road and you have to pay attention to signs because then it's go this way, go this way. And then of course we have the Queen case store, which is absolutely fabulous, absolutely fabulous. And then we had Lahaina and we have had volunteers in those stores that have been volunteers 16, 17 years, they've been volunteers. And they're, they're very possessive of their stores. John T., who was the former chair of the board of Maui Friends Library, John T. has held many positions on the board. And he's the one now who's in charge of the Queen case store. And he would always, he would always challenge me, he'd say, okay, this is how much money we're going to raise this month. How much are you guys in line are going to raise? Can you raise as much as we do? And I'd say, John, it's not a competition. It's just a matter of getting books out to the public. You say, I know, but I want more money than you. And so we always add this thing going back and forth. But we have people who have been there volunteers for a long, long time. The other thing that's very good about the Friends Library bookstore is that we try and be responsive to whatever our local community is. So for example, when we were open in Lahaina, we were open from 10 until six. So we had two, four hour shifts, 10 to two, two to six, because the outlets in Lahaina were open at that particular time. So that meshed with them. Puneine has a different schedule. And again, it's because of what the community at Puneine needs. Queen Kay has a different schedule, because it's what happens in terms of the people going in to Puneine. And we do or end up into Queen Kay. And we do all kinds of other activities. For example, right now, and I just got an update from one of our volunteers, we have been taking books. We've had the person who's in charge of the bookstore or the, the, the books in the warehouse delivering books to the bookstore. He's coming over to Lahaina two days a week, and he brings boxes of books. We are taking those books into the behind a Civic Center. We've got an area set up. When you come into the Civic Center, we're right at the front door, which makes it very nice. And we've got all kinds of containers filled with books. People can just come and take those books. We're not charging for those books. We're just giving them away to people who want to come in and take books. And they're going like crazy. Absolutely. Just going out. So at Lahaina Civic Center, that's where people can find the free books from my friends of the library. Yep. Yep. And I just talked to one of the volunteers today. She said, well, she said they're going like mad. And she said, you know, more and more people now are going out of the hotels where they've been and they're going into other housing areas. But she said, we're going to stay here. We're going to stay here as long as we can, which I'm so thankful of because people are still coming and they're still getting books. And that's terribly important. So we've tried, as things have occurred with the fires, we've tried to step up, we've worked with the Red Cross, we've worked with FEMA, and we were delivering books to the hotels where people could just go in and pick up books and have something to read. And now we're going to be depending on where we end up if the Civic Center closes, and then we have to go someplace else until we can get a bookstore back up. Now we're negotiating with the Department of Ed to have somebody come in and do story time with the children so that they have something there. What is the timeline for reopening a store? Oh, the timeline for reopening the store is, as soon as I can find a spot, as soon as I can find a spot, we've got books in the warehouse. If I can find a spot somewhere in West Maui that would serve the needs, we can go in, we can see what needs to be done in terms of putting in shelving, things of that nature. I've got the guy who did the marking of the books in terms of how much we charge and all of that. He's ready to go. He calls me every couple of days, have you found a spot? Have you found a spot? I'm waiting, I'm waiting. And so we can go. Are you currently fundraising? Are you soliciting donations? Are you in kind, financial donations towards rebuilding the store? If people want to donate to us, we will certainly take it. We were very, very, very blessed. We have a good bank account in terms of dollars. And so we're not trying to take money away from other people that probably can use it more in terms of their organizational structure. But if somebody wants to give us a good lease on a space, we'll take it. So let's work on this. Let's find a place so that we can open that store again and break the books to all those book lovers and avid readers. That's right. Well, Flo, thank you so much for joining me today. I hope that our next show soon is going to be about the opening of the store. Yes. Yes. Organizing some sort of events there at the store. Yes. So if anybody knows of a space that we can rent, we're ready to go. Well, just have them call you. Yes. And contact information on the website is fol.org. And of course, it can reach out to me as well. And I'll communicate with Flo and let's get it done. That's right. Thank you so much. Thank you, Flo. Aloha and mahalo to all the people that sign in. Okay. Thank you.