FOLSOI and BNC share a common goal; we learn together, grow together and make friends together. Jeff Sherman, president of the Brunswick Newcomers Club (BNC), welcomed 29 new members, and Carol Brolley, president of FOLSOI, as the guest speaker, at the well-attended February BNC meeting.
Brunswick Newcomers Club is a non-profit social group of more than 420 residents (new and not so new) of Brunswick County, “where strangers are friends you haven’t met yet”. Sherman is no stranger to FOLSOI. He is a dedicated member of the volunteer team that runs FOLSOI’s Once More Bookstore inside Southport Realty.
Several other BNC members are also members, donors, and volunteers of FOLSOI. Kathleen Ragan, BNC Lunch Bunch chairperson and dedicated library supporter, shared that in lieu of gifts for a milestone birthday, she asked friends to make a donation to FOLSOI.

Brolley enthusiastically shared FOLSOI’s mission and accomplishments, which includes providing financial support to the Harper Library in Southport and the Barbee Library in Oak Island and advocating for improved library services. She also shared the many reasons why our libraries are more important than ever and how they bring people of all ages together.
People of all ages and backgrounds are welcome at the library, where they can discover myriad ways to enrich and improve their quality of life. Our libraries are a great equalizer in our increasingly fractured society, providing free access to an amazing world of technology and other valuable resources.
No matter what information you’re looking for, it’s available at the library:
- Do you need tax forms? Find and file them online at the library.
- Applying for a job? We have the computers and the staff ready to help.
- Searching for ancestors? Our books, database access and microfilm collection will help you find them.
- Worried about hurricanes? Find out what you need to know now at the library.
Great movies (DVDs), great reads (including large print and books on CD) and great newspapers (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, State Port Pilot, etc.) — they’re all at the library. And if you can’t always get to the library, your library card gives you access to hundreds of eBooks online using Libby, the library reading app, or NCLive, the statewide library cooperative.
Like at the Brunswick Newcomers Club, the best part about our local libraries, is how they bring people together and improve our quality of life. Thanks to sponsorship from the FOLSOI, our libraries offer popular book discussion groups, family events and kids’ activities, meet-the-author events and topical, issues-related talks.
Whether you are a new or long time Brunswick County resident, you have friends at the library and the Brunswick Newcomers Club.
