Chapters

Potomac Chapter

Potomac Library
10101 Glenolden Drive
Potomac, MD 20854
Chapter President: Edie Wingate
Contact: potomac@folmc.org

Check out our newsletters here.

Check out our ongoing programs here.

Explore “A Universe of Stories” This Summer

Potomac Library is offering a virtual galaxy of programs for children of all ages in connection with the Summer 2019 reading theme of “A Universe of Stories.” The Friends of the Library-Potomac Chapter is proud to sponsor many of the programs.

Read our Summer 2019 newsletter for programs and times.

For a complete list of activities, please check out the MCPL calendar of events here. 

Potomac Friends’ Year in Review

(July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019)

It was a good year! Our goal was to enhance the library while having fun! We had fun and provided a variety of programs. However, there were no major physical enhancements other than a new carpet for the children’s area because we are waiting for the library to be refreshed.

The continuing support of our loyal Friends’ members—plus our book sales—made it all possible—thank you!

Highlights for the year include:

Summer 2018

• Funding an incredible variety of activities for children and teens to complement Montgomery County Public Libraries’ “Summer Read and Learn Program: Libraries Rock” (Summer 2019 theme: “A Universe of Stories.”);

Fall 2018

• Funding the visit of storybook character Paddington Bear in the annual Potomac Day festivities—we also offered numerous Paddington themed activities and books;
• Funding a performance by the Beale Street Puppets;
• Organizing the visit of Peter Ibenana, Community Outreach Director of nearby Glenstone Museum (NOTE: in August 2019, we will offer a tour of the museum’s grounds)
• Funding Christiana Drapkin and her jazz instrumentalists’ visit;

Winter 2019

• Peter Ibenana returned with a generous donation from Glenstone to the library: a 13-volume set of their catalogs;
• Funding the impressive visit of The Chinese Lion in celebration of the Chinese New Year—we also funded other Chinese New Year activities as well;
• In February, Library Lovers Month, library visitors were encouraged to fill out postcards telling why they loved their library—a random drawing of 2 postcards enabled an adult and a child to enter our monthly book sale before it opened and to fill a bag with books;

Spring 2109

• Funding for a children’s program with Janice Curtis Greene, who told/re-enacted the dramatic story of Harriet Tubman;
• Funding for a visit from a real live kangaroo and a wallaby;
• Funding for a program to teach children how to respond to bullying;

All year long

• Funding for a variety of children’s programs/activities/materials;
• Presenting our 7^th year of the Great Decisions group, with attendance ranging from 80 to more than100 people;
• Organizing and running of our most popular and successful monthly book sales;
• Continuing our collaboration with the Potomac Village Garden Club to maintain/improve our award winning grounds;
• Publishing our outstanding quarterly newsletter.

Transitions:

• Sadly, Barbara Gargano our long time Treasurer died suddenly in August. We were able to recruit Ann Eagleson to be our new Treasurer—she was elected in September.
• At the September meeting we introduced Lunden Gillespie as our new Potomac Branch Manager. Unfortunately Lunden resigned in late March to take a job with the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System. Fortunately, David Payne currently Manager at Aspen Hill, was able to return as our Acting Manager. David was our Acting Manager prior to Lunden; he will continue to provide oversight at Potomac until a new manager is appointed.
• Montgomery County Public Libraries is still being led by Acting Director Anita Vassallo—currently there is a national search for a permanent director.

Great Decisions

Begins its seventh year at the Potomac Library on February 7, 2019. A national program of the non-partisan Foreign Policy Association, Great Decisions is America’s largest discussion program on world affairs. We are fortunate to have a local group that meets, usually with a guest speaker, eight times a year on the first Thursday of the month from 12:30-2:00 pm in the library’s community meeting room.

The program, sponsored by Friends of the Library, Potomac, is free and open to the public. A copy of the 2019 Briefing Book, providing analysis on the wide range of topics selected for discussion, will be available beginning in early January at the library’s Information Desk. The book cannot be checked out, but it only takes about an hour to read the relevant article. A dvd is also available and it is available for checkout—ask at the Information Desk.

For further information please contact us at potomacfol@gmail.com with Great Decisions in the subject line.

Remaining Great Decisions 2019 Topics & Dates

• Decoding U.S.-China Trade—June 6 (rescheduled to 12-1:30pm to accommodate our speaker’s tight schedule)
• Cyber Conflicts and Geopolitics—September 5
• The United State and Mexico: Partnership Tested—October 3
• State of the State Department and Diplomacy—November 7

Decoding U.S.-China Trade by Jeremy Haft

That gadget you bought may be labelled “Made in China” but was it really? Or was it just assembled there from parts made in other countries, including the United States? The difference can distort economic measurements and thus trade relations. Adding to the difficulty is China’s opaque economic system as well as our reliance on an arguably out-of-date yardstick of GDP which brings into question calculations of how big our relative economies really are.

There are also concerns with China’s restrictions on U.S. companies seeking to do business there including intellectual property rights. And there is a substantial wage disparity: $3.60 an hour on average in China’s manufacturing sector; $22.90 in the United States. No wonder getting to a trade agreement has proven difficult.

To put pressure on those negotiations, the U.S. administration imposed punitive tariffs on Chinese imports last summer and recently raised them. But, so far, evidence suggests they haven’t had much effect on the volume of trade while increasing costs to American consumers.

To help untangle the trade troubles between the United States and China we will be joined by Dan Ikenson, director of the Cato Institute’s Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Studies. A widely published author on trade issues and frequent guest on the major broadcast networks, he is just returned from China. He holds an MA in Economics from George Washington University and once held a membership in the old Potomac Library which sat across the street from our present location!

Cyber Conflict and Geopolitics by Richard Andres

Cyber conflict is a new and continually developing threat, which can include foreign interference in elections, industrial sabotage and attacks on infrastructure. Russia has been accused of interfering in the 2016 presidential elections in the United States and China is highly committed to using cyberspace as a tool of national policy. Dealing with cyber conflict will require new ways of looking at 21^st century warfare. Is the United States prepared to respond to such threats?

The United States and Mexico: Partnership Tested by Michael Shifter and Bruno Binetti

The United States and Mexico have a long, intertwined history, with both countries prominently featured in each other’s politics and agendas. The war on drugs, immigration and trade issues have taxed the relationship over the years. What impact will new leadership in both countries have on this crucial partnership?

State of the State Department and Diplomacy by Nicholas Burns

During the Trump administration, the usual ways of conducting diplomacy have been upended. Many positions in the State Department have never been filled, and meetings with foreign leaders such as Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin have been undertaken with little advance planning. What effect are these changes having now, and how will they affect ongoing relationships between the United States and its allies and adversaries?