Gift Items

The Friends offers a small selection of gift merchandise for purchase, both on-line and in many Saint Paul Public Library branches. Proceeds from the sale of gift merchandise support The Friends and the Saint Paul Public Library.

Minnesota sales tax is included in all gift prices. For mail orders, please include $4 for shipping and handling, and allow 3-4 weeks for delivery, or save the shipping charges and pick up your order at our office. After adding your items to the shopping cart, please select your preferred shipping or pick-up option at the bottom of the page and proceed to the secure checkout.

New Items

Bags

Books

Apparel & Accessories


Nothing beats a warm Minnesota day, hanging in a hammock and reading!

Friends enjoy reading in a hammock!

We can already picture this hammock hanging on your porch or between two trees in your yard. Wow! It is such a relaxing sensation to rock back and forth in this single person hammock. Goes anywhere you want it!

Features:

Bright and colorful, comfortable yet strong, 80/20 cotton/poly blend

Rolls up easily and tucks into its carry-along bag

Comes in a handy gift box

Size: 38” x 109” including ropes

Can hold up to 250 lbs.

Support your library while hanging around in the sun or shade, reading a good book!

$40


“Green” Book Bags

Go Greeg With Our New High Tech ToteGo green with our reusable and tear-resistant, high-tech tote!

Roomy!  14” x 16” x 8”
Folds to Compact Size, with Snap Closure
Sturdy, Fiberboard Bottom Insert
16" Reinforced Handles
100% Recyclable Non-Woven Material
$5
($2 directly supports your library)

Reuse, reduce & recycle with this convenient, tear-resistant and water repellent bag.  It’s a perfect size to carry groceries or books.  Minimize the effect that the use of plastic bags has on our environment.
Together we can make the world a little greener!

Plastic bags fun facts


Insulated Lunch Bag - $7

7” x 10” x 3”
100% Recyclable, Non-Woven Materials

9 ½” Reinforced Handles
Velcro Closure

There’s no need to brown bag anymore! Save a tree and stop throwing away your money by replacing your disposable bags with this reusable, practical lunch bag. Show others that you can go “green” with this vibrant-red bag that can be used time and time again.

Insulated Lunch Bag

Read. Grow.

Saint Paul Public Library Large Tote - $25

A durable book bag for big loads and long use (measures 22" wide by 15" tall, with 5" gusset at the bottom; made of heavyweight 15 oz. canvas) silk-screened with the Saint Paul Public Library logo on the front.
See the world through our doors!

Large Tote Bag

Medium Classic - $12

Join the prestigious group carrying The Friends' classic book bag (measures 15" by 16" by 3", made of sturdy 10 oz. cotton canvas construction with double snap closures and strong, matching handles), now with an updated and fresh, new look!

Medium Tote Bag

Saturn Soft-sided Briefcase - $15

Sensible and stylish, the zippered main compartment offers plenty of storage for literature, and the front pocket — with quick-access velcro closure — offers extra space for things like business cards, cell phones and pens. It features an adjustable shoulder strap, tough grip handles and a clear plastic pocket on the back for your ID or library card.

Saturn Brief bag

Polyester Zippered Tote - $15

Royal Blue and Black
20" W x 16" H x 6" G
Outside pocket with hook-and-loop closure
Interior zippered slip pocket
24" x 1 1/2" Shoulder-length handles


Active library patrons have long requested a tote bag similar to that used for the "Book Club in a Bag" series, so we created this durable bag just for you! Strong and stylish, it can be used for carrying books, grocery shopping, as an overnight bag, or whenever you want to look sharp and practical.

Royal Blue and Black Polyester Zippered Tote

Minnesota Book Awards Heavy Duty Book Bag - $15

Support Minnesota Authors... Read Local!
This roomy (18-1/2" wide by 12" high, with 5" gussets) and sturdy (10 oz. cotton canvas) bag is big enough and tough enough for even the most avid reader. And the colorful Minnesota Book Awards logo says you're a supporter and discerning reader of the best in local literature (which means a lot when you live in one of the "most literate cities" in the country!). 24" woven cotton handles.

Minnesota Book Awards Tote Bag

A Noble Task: The Saint Paul Public Library Celebrates 125! - $40

by Biloine W. Young, Foreword by Patricia Hampl

A Noble Task: The Saint Paul Public Library Celebrates 125 Years!

With more than 200 photos and illustrations, A Noble Task tells the story of the library from the years when it was considered the bastion of the male elite (with separate reading rooms for men and women), to the current organization of 12 branches, a bookmobile and extensive Internet services.

The Saint Paul Public Library has become the people's university. Students access research on the library's computers; immigrants check on news from homelands on the other side of the world; Homework Help Centers, staffed with volunteers, assist teens with school assignments; new arrivals study for citizenship tests at the library; and neighborhoods look on their libraries as their community centers.

The value of our library - and all libraries - is summed up by St. Paul native Patricia Hampl in the book's foreword: "The only civic home we can really claim together is here, in our library, the house we've made for books and music, magazines and films, all the ways we tell each other our stories and our news, our discoveries and uncertainties, the beautiful building where we are quiet in order to hear all the noise and news of the wide world beyond us, the great world we think is elsewhere but which beats along our very pulse."


Heart of the Community: The Libraries We Love - $50

Heart of the Community: Libraries We Love

The Saint Paul Public Library's own Saint Anthony Park Branch Library is featured in this prestigious new book - Heart of the Community: The Libraries We Love. This full-color, illustrated book, edited by David Levinson and Karen Christensen, is the first to sing the praises and show the beauty of North America’s beloved public libraries, recognizing that they’re being transformed by new uses—literacy programs, resources for new Americans and English language learners, homework help centers, small business resource centers, cultural programming sites, and much more.


Twelve Branches: Stories from Saint Paul - $8

Twelve Branches: Stories from Saint Paul, was a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award. The book was written by four professional authors working with community members in the Saint Paul Public Library. For six months, the writers—Nora Murphy, Josie Rawson, Julia Klatt Singer and Diego Vázquez—visited each of Saint Paul's twelve library branches. People of all ages were invited to share stories about their library and their experiences in Saint Paul. The writers then faced the difficult task of sifting through these memories and forming them into stories. Facts blurred into fiction, truths were bent into tales, and soon the writers had a completed book on their hands. This innovative effort, called The Library Book Project, was coordinated by The Friends and published by Coffee House Press. Book Bag

"Friends Rock" Long-Sleeved T-Shirt

Sure, Friends ROCK but now they keep you warm, too, in a long-sleeved t-shirt that shows you’re a supporter of the library. The back of the shirt features a 2" locker-patch Friends logo.

100% pre-shrunk cotton; double-needle stitching throughout; taped shoulder-to-shoulder. Available in Blue, Red, Gold, Gray, Sand and Kiwi Green.  Sizes S, M, L, XL - $18

Extended sizes - $20. Please call for available sizes and colors

Friends Rock long-sleeved T
Size
Color

Library Logo T-Shirts

What better way to show off your library spirit than with a stylin' new t-shirt? Sporting the Library logo in orange and blue, these heavyweight, 100% cotton, black tees shine with spirit and fun.

T-shirt

Adult sizes- $15 (sizes S, M, L, XL, XXL, and XXXL)

Children's sizes - $13 (sizes S, 6-8; M, 10-12; L, 14-16)


Umbrellas - $13

Make a splash with the Friends' new, auto-open, compact umbrella. These bright yellow umbrellas are sure to add a festive touch to any rainy day. Fold-down umbrellas span to a wide 42" arc, and are perfect for travel, in the car, and for everyday use.

Rainy days are best for reading, but when you have to go out, take your Friends umbrella with you!

  Gift Umbrella

Central Library and READ Posters

Adorn your walls with these colorful posters. The Central Library poster, designed by Friberg Design, features a historic photo of the Library set in a blueprint-inspired background. Suitable for framing, each poster is only $2.

The READ poster, created by 45 Degrees|Minneapolis, features a bright, full color photograph of a girl reading a book superimposed on the Saint Paul Public Library logo. The text of the poster is: READ - See the World Through Our Doors. Suitable for framing, each poster is only $2.


Shipping - $4

Just one flat rate for your entire purchase. Save this expense by picking up your order at our offices

For more information or to order by phone:

Please contact The Friends’ office at 651-222-3242, if you would like more information about any of the merchandise, or prefer to order by phone. The Friends office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Central time.