Friends include all those who make an annual gift to the libraries at least equal to the cost of a public borrower's card. Each of the fifteen board members will be nominated to serve a three-year term. The terms of service are staggered so that each year five board members will retire and be replaced by five new members nominated by the board and the university librarian. The nominated members will begin service upon ratification by a majority of the Friends attending the annual meeting. Service includes planning and managing programs and other activities that focus attention on the libraries and foster support for library-centered scholarship and other intellectual and artistic activities.
Service also includes advocating for the libraries' financial interests.
The Friends look for opportunities to bring the libraries to the attention of city and state governments, so that the libraries will receive their fair share of public educational resources. They support the libraries' efforts to participate in private philanthropy and engage in direct revenue-raising activities on the libraries' behalf. Each year the Friends' board will plan activities and expenditures for the support of the library in cooperation with the university librarian, who has the ultimate responsibility for the amount and designation of the funds so expended. The Friends, through a common interest in books and libraries, provide an amiable environment for friendships to flourish.