The Friends of the College Library (FOCL) announced the start of a year long celebration for its tenth anniversary.

The registered charity which supports the Bermuda College Library will kick off its celebration with a proclamation event at the college library on July 3.

The tenth anniversary theme is Library + Community = Success. The FOCL was officially launched in July 1993 by a Committee Board of the Bermuda College alumni, faculty and students, as well as members of the local community. Its slogan is "The library is your best friend, so be a friend to your library."

The organisation's mission is to raise funds for the library, foster closer relations between the College Library and the community, and to promote knowledge of the College Library's functions, resources, services and needs. The celebrations will include a series of author sessions in September, November, January, March and May, which are designed to heighten the profile of local authors and a Book Fair in February.

FOCL spokeswoman Daurene Aubrey said: "We are excited about our forthcoming author events and book fair that we have organised for our tenth anniversary. Reading is a wonderful way to expand people's knowledge whether they are looking for information or conducting research for a project. We are proud of the resources that we have here at the College library and encourage the community to join FOCL and to use it."

FOCL donated $10,000 towards the College Library's on-line book catalogue in order for it to be web-enabled. The system www.library.bercol.bm went live last month, now allows FOCL and College Library members to search the library's catalogue to see whether the book is in the library or checked out.

In the future members will be able to renew their books online, see what books they have out, monitor book due dates and make recommendations for library purchases. They will also be able to access other library catalogues via the library's website. "Our web-enabled catalogue has proven really popular for students and local academics who typically tend to do their research late at night when the library is closed," said Ms Aubrey.

"If a member wants to see if the College Library has a book they need to borrow, they can now do that from the comfort of their own home with the click of a button." Ms Aubrey thanked Information Systems Department for "their support in bringing us online".