Friends who saved a library

MIDLAND — Ten years ago, the doors of the Carnegie Free Library of Midland would have closed without the dedicated efforts of a few community members — the Friends of the Library committee. The group was led by Virginia Lopata, a retired teacher and principal with a passion for her community. 

Lopata was born in Midland and has lived there all her life. She says she’s never even considered leaving. As a licensed insurance agent for the Portanova Agency and as the development manager of Big Kat Pizza, Lopata witnesses the needs of the community every day.

Lopata has watched important resources disappear from Midland over time, but she recognizes the value of her hometown and remains committed to making it a better place.

According to Lopata’s brother, Joe D’Itri, “She doesn’t rest. If it’s for Midland, she’s all for it.”

One of the most significant ways Lopata has shown up for her community is by leading the Midland Library’s Friends committee.

In 2016, the Carnegie Free Library of Midland was approaching its 100th birthday. But as expenses rose, now interim director Brian Sheperd realized without more funding, the library would be forced to close. Sheperd reached out to Lopata, a close friend he knew would be eager to help. He asked her to start a volunteer committee dedicated to fundraising. Immediately, Lopata was on board.

“I put out a plea to the town,” Lopata recalls, “and said, this is something we need to do. Who’s willing to jump into this committee?”

Before long, the Friends of the Carnegie Free Library of Midland had 10–12 members, a number it has maintained steadily over the past decade. 

“That first group of people really rallied behind us,” Lopata said. She noted that the leaders of the community also came alongside the Friends group to guide their efforts. “If we couldn’t have formed the Friends group and been able to fundraise, we could have lost our library.”

And if the library’s doors had closed, the Midland community would have lost a valuable third space and free resources.

“A library is something that offers an opening for so many things,” Lopata said. “Whether you are someone who is an avid reader but can’t afford to buy every book you want to read, whether you are job searching and need to use the computers,” there is a place for you at the library.

The library’s programs and free events are a fun and safe place for people to find community. Lopata has a personal connection to the library as well.

“The library was my home away from home,” she said, recalling her childhood in Midland. “I spent a lot of time in that library reading everything I could get my hands on.” 

She had understood even then that someone else’s donation made her experience possible. “I’m just trying to pay it forward,” she said.

When asked about the most rewarding part of her work with the Friends committee, Lopata said, “Watching even a small piece of it make a positive difference in someone else’s life.”

She described a heart-warming moment when she witnessed the impact of her work. While handing out popsicles at the library for an event hosted by the Friends group, she met a mother who had brought her two young children to the library to play with educational toys.

“They were regulars,” she remembered. “The kids knew where all the toys were. It was like home to them.” 

The children’s mother told Lopata she couldn’t afford the educational toys they came to play with. She relied on the library’s resources to provide educational, beneficial experiences to her children. 

“It really made me understand what something as simple as that could do for this family, for anybody that comes in there,” Lopata said.

The Friends have hosted many fundraising events over the years, including book and bake sales, evening swim parties at the Midland Pool and white elephant auctions. Their biggest event is the annual dinner and basket raffle. Patrons of the library, along with local businesses and nonprofits donate baskets. The event has become a successful fundraiser and an enjoyable event for the community. 

Ivee Roach, a close friend of Lopata, described one of the raffles attended by several council members.

“Everyone on council won a basket and they were walking out of there just grinning and skipping,” she recalled. “It was really, really nice.”

While Roach praised Lopata’s efforts to keep the library open, she also testified to other moments Lopata’s character shone through.

When a house caught on fire last summer, Lopata didn’t stay safe at home while the firefighters put it out. She carried cases of water to the firemen.

Such kind and selfless acts of service make Lopata stand out to members of her community.

“She’s a phenomenal woman,” Roach said. “I respect her so, so much for all that she does.” 

Lopata’s brother, D’Itri, is the chief of the Midland Fire Department. He, too, testified of Lopata’s willingness to lend a helping hand, after calling upon her when the department was struggling to make ends meet. 

“I always turn to my sister,” he said. “She’s the best.” 

According to Lopata, the fire department had just begun hosting raffles to raise money when the pandemic struck. The department had to pivot to online fundraising, and Lopata volunteered to take over the raffles. 

Since then, she’s been setting up raffles via Facebook. Lopata posts about the prize and the ticket price, then keeps track of everyone who enters and draws the winning ticket on a Facebook live.

“If there’s something I can do, why not?” Lopata said. As a member of a third-generation fire department family, she says it’s been a big part of her life and a cause well worth her time and effort.

“I’ll never be the one who goes into a burning building, but I can help support them in a small way,” she said.

It’s Lopata’s hope that other members of the Midland community would take initiative to support their town. As for the library specifically, she wants patrons to recognize the value of their support. 

“We need people to talk about the needs of the library, share the programming the library is doing so more people are aware,” Lopata said.

She also said the library always needs volunteers, especially if they have to increase the operating hours due to state mandates.

But there are plenty of opportunities to support Midland beyond the library. As a member of the Midland Area Lions Club and Midland Economic Development Corporation, Lopata sees firsthand the needs waiting to be met and the ways people can contribute to Midland.

“Our community needs everyone’s time and talent. Any opportunity that people have to join one of these committees or just be a part of positive change,” Lopata said, can make a difference.