Friends of the Library Host Read Between the Wines at OPL

OLEAN, NY — The annual Friends of the Library September fundraiser, Read Between the Wines, pulled a crowd full of library lovers into the Olean Public Library Friday night.

Attendees traveled from table to table tasting  a variety of wines, meads and ciders while sampling cheese, crackers, baked goods, open-faced mini sandwiches, pizza and other snacks.

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Maureen Curry, who had been the OPL director from 1969 to 1994, said she was so excited to see that the event, which was begun in 2018, had become so popular.

Curry recalled that she and Olean native Alfred Eade helped found the Friends of the Olean Library in 1981. Eade, she said, cared deeply about his community and spent 17 years on the OPL board.

Eade's daughter, Kathy Welch, attended Read Between the Wines with her husband Fred for the first time.

Sariah Duran and Katie Corson also attended the event for the first time. Both had been born and raised in Olean and said they grew up coming to the library.

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“It’s such a fun girl’s night and such a good cause,” Duran said.

Lance Chaffee, who had been library director from 1998 to 2016,  listed his special reasons for coming to the event.

“I enjoy wine. I live in Allegany, and I worked at the library for (more than) 30 years,” Chaffee said.

Current library director Michelle LaVoie said Friday's event was the sixth Read Between the Wines and that every year the library has seen a growth in attendance and is so thankful for that.

“People in the community love it. They keep coming back each year to support us,” LaVoie said.

She also said the event would be impossible without all the wonderful volunteers from the Friends of the Library board, like Mary Giardini.

Giardini, who oversees special projects for the Friends of the Library board, said,  “It keeps growing every year. We want to keep doing this in the future."

Zonta Club of Olean member Ann Wright, who attended Read Between the Wines to accept recognition from the library on behalf of the club,  said the club had been one of the first donors to the OPL when it fell on hard times in 1981.

“It’s nice to have an event like this," Wright said. "The community supports the library so the library can support the community.”

LaVoie agreed that the community support is what bring the event to life.

“The people are what make it,” she said.

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