8:32 a.m., Feb. 20, 2009----The University of Delaware Library Associates, the “friends group” of the University of Delaware Library, has elected officers for calendar year 2009.

Wilson J. C. Braun Jr., managing director and Mid-Atlantic head of J.P. Morgan, will serve as president and the Hon. Helen S. Balick, retired chief judge of U.S. Bankruptcy Court, will serve as vice-president.

Joseph P. Melloy Sr., president of Technology Planning Group and director of development for the Friends of Wilmington Parks, will serve as treasurer; Theodore F. Killheffer, attorney, will serve as secretary; and Susan Brynteson, vice provost and May Morris Director of Libraries at the University of Delaware, will serve as assistant secretary/treasurer.

UDLA works to expand and enrich the research collections of the University of Delaware Library through gifts from individual members, funds raised by sponsored programs, and by donations of significant books.

Contributions of the University of Delaware Library Associates assist the University of Delaware Library financially with the acquisition of rare library materials, support a lecture program in the Morris Library featuring the research of a University of Delaware faculty member, sponsor an exhibition opening reception with an accompanying exhibition-related publication to promote the research materials housed in Special Collections, and offer an annual dinner that includes a presentation by an author of regional or national acclaim.

Members of the Library Associates also receive a semi-annual newsletter of the University of Delaware Library Associates, exhibition publications, and a journal called Collections that is published on an occasional basis.

The University of Delaware Library Associates welcomes new members. Most Library Associates' annual contributions are at the $125 level per year. Other levels of contributions include $5 per year for students or a minimum contribution of $35 per year for others.

The membership brochure of the Library Associates is available via the library Web site (www2.lib.udel.edu/udla/).

To request a printed membership brochure, interested persons can send an e-mail message to [UDLA@udel.edu] or contact the UD Library administration at (302) 831-2231.