How Can My State Society Help the SAR Library?
The need for the establishment and development of a library for the Sons of the American Revolution was recognized by The Society’s founders, who specified provisions in the SAR Constitution for the acquisition and preservation of Revolutionary War period records. Now, over 120 years later, many thousands of these records are housed in the newly constructed facility at 809 West Main Street in Louisville, Kentucky. In this, our 122nd year, we are again turning to our state societies for help to improve the SAR Library.
One of the main ways that each SAR state society can make a contribution is by joining and promoting the Friends of the SAR Library (FOL). The FOL began in February 1991 when President General James R. Calhoun signed his approval, and the FOL has provided the library with many thousands of dollars over the past twenty years.
The annual membership for the FOL is $25.00. Eighty percent goes directly to the Library Endowment Fund and twenty percent goes to the Library Special Purpose Operating Fund. The eighty percent remains in the Endowment, but the interest from this goes to the Special Purpose. This interest, plus the twenty percent in the Special Purpose Fund, may be spent to purchase non-budget items for the library.
The key to making the FOL program a success is to have an FOL State Chairman in every State Society, who will promote the objectives of the program within his state. If you would like to be listed as an FOL Chairman for your state, you may contact the library at (502) 588-6138 or rchristi
sar [dot] org.
sar [dot] org.The SAR Library may be visited free-of-charge by members of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), spouses of SAR members (WOSAR), Daughters of the American Revolution members (DAR), and Sons of the Revolution (SR). Those who fall outside one of these four categories may obtain access to the SAR Library for one year with an FOL membership. Those who do fall into one of the above categories may also join the FOL and claim the $25.00 as a charitable contribution when filing their income tax.
The Friends of the SAR Library had 271 members as of December 1, 2011, but this is less than 1% of our total SAR membership. How we support our SAR Library is a reflection of our overall concern for our Society as a whole. Please consider helping to promote your library by becoming a State Chairman and/or joining the FOL.