While the Princeton Public Library’s legal status will change with consolidation, the Board of Trustees chose last week not to proceed with another proposed change that would have merged the Friends of the Library with the Princeton Public Library Foundation.

In response to Board President Katharine McGavern’s suggestion that “a single organization would make more sense from an accounting point of view,” the rest of the Board voted to support what former President Claire Jacobus described as “the human capital that exists in the Friends.”

Ms. McGavern emphasized that her single vote for combining the two bodies represented what she believed was in the best interests of the library. Library Executive Director Leslie Burger also made a point of ending the special mid-morning meeting on a conciliatory note.

A 21-member council oversees the work of the Friends. The group has won several national honors for its work, including the Gale Cengage Library Development Award; the 2011 Baker & Taylor/ALTAFF Friends of Library Award; and the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates and Friends Best Friend Award.

With consolidation, the library, which was chartered in 1961 as a joint library, will no longer be serving the two entities that have, together, provided 80 percent of its budget. Ms. Burger said that she expected approximately the same amount from the single new municipality.

Although Trustees are reported to have considered making the library an association, or private library when consolidation takes place, they chose to remain a public library. Under consolidation, the Board will continue as a nine-member body that includes the new mayor and a community member nominated by the mayor.

The Friends will continue to raise money through annual and on-going book sales and special events, and to provide an annual gift to the library for collection development, free public programming, and staff development.

Library friends receive priority mailing of Connections, the library’s quarterly program guide; free admission to preview the annual book sale; and early invitations to Friends’ events.

Each fall the Friends hosts an annual evening benefit that includes a speaker followed by dinner in the library. The 2012 Benefit, to be held on Saturday, September 29th, will feature a talk by author Jeffrey Eugenides. Previous speakers have included Roz Chast, Calvin Trillin, Richard Ford, and Terry Gross.

The 2012 Annual Used Book Sale will take place October 12 through 14 in the library’s Community Room.