Friends of the University Library Records

In the spring of 1952, several private citizens met in Reno, Nevada to discuss the idea of forming a support group for the University of Nevada library. The Library Advisory Committee appointed by University President Malcolm E. Love met for the first time on June 11, 1952. Robert A. Griffen was elected Chairman, and committee members included Dr. Fred M. Anderson and Walter Van Tilburg Clark.

The Friends of the University Library was established as a permanent organization in 1953. Senator Alan Bible served as President from 1954-55. Though inactive throughout most of the 1970s, the Friends was reorganized in 1981. Comprising university faculty, staff and community members, the organization supported and assisted in enhancing the collections and services of the University of Nevada, Reno Library by providing sustained financial support along with educational and cultural opportunities for its members and the community.

The Nevada Writers Hall of Fame was conceived by former Friends of the University Library President Marilyn Melton in 1988. She envisioned two purposes: an annual event honoring Nevada's finest writers and a stimulus to encourage excellence among emerging writers in the Silver State. The Silver Pen Award was established as part of the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 1996 to recognize writers who are in mid-career, but have already shown substantial achievement. It is seen as a way of both honoring this talent and also encouraging other writers, both emerging and in mid-career. Annual selection committees determine which authors will receive these awards.

Members of the group volunteered to work in the Book Nook in Getchell Library and in the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center from 1986 until the Nook's closure in 2010.