About Us
Thank you for choosing “Still I Rise” as a central message of your effort. Joy!Maya Angelou
The DC Public Library Foundation partners with the DC Public Library to provide a margin of excellence to our city’s public libraries, bringing private philanthropy together with government support to ensure that our libraries deliver the highest quality of service to the District’s residents. With the help of many generous people, the Foundation provides educational programs for children and youth, workforce development training, cultural events, and collection enhancements for DC’s libraries.
Our Mission
The District of Columbia Public Library Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that enhances DC Public Library resources and programs to promote, in all community members, literacy and a thirst for knowledge.
Our Work
With support from corporate, foundation, government and individual donors, the District of Columbia Public Library Foundation provides resources that enhance but do not supplant local government funding. The Foundation:
- Contributes books and other materials
- Provides learning opportunities for children and adults, such as
- Sing, Talk and Read (STAR), which helps children from newborn to age 5 get ready to learn to read;
- Computer Classes and Drop-In Job Clinics, which offer assistance in searching and applying for jobs, and help people gain basic computer skills; and
- Summer Reading, which motivates kids to read during summer vacation.
- Increases access to media and technology
- Supports cultural events in and outside the Library
- Enhances library service capacity
- Provides funds for facility improvements
The Foundation administers and manages a variety of restricted and unrestricted funds in the form of bequests, trusts, gifts of securities, foundation and government grant awards, and cash donations from individuals.
Our Vision
We see a District-wide literacy movement, sparked by the Foundation, inspired by a love of words and books, and fueled by expanded educational opportunities for all.
We see a Library system that—through innovative and state-of-the-art facilities, programs, and services—becomes for the community a beacon of lifelong learning, a catalyst for citizen action and organization, and a leader in the pursuit of enlightened civic engagement.
We see a community uplifted, dedicated to opportunity and working together to offer DC residents from all neighborhoods, of all ages, at all literacy levels the possibility of realizing their full potential.
