FRIENDS OF THE PHOENIX PUBLIC

Hosts the annual Storyfest literacy festival at Burton Barr Central Library, serving approximately 1,000 attendees with a free book giveaway, themed literacy activities, prize drawing, and community partner expo.

Donates books, CDs, and DVDs to other local literacy projects, libraries, and charitable nonprofit groups, including Friends of Libraries across Arizona, Phoenix Art Museum, and Fresh Start Women’s Resource Center.

Provides book donations to teachers, school librarians, and schools through the BookStorm Program, allowing educators to request up to 500 books and schedule visits to select titles; distributes books to enhance school library collections and support student reading, including large-scale giveaways.

Sells donated books, CDs, and DVDs through multiple channels—including an in-store bookstore at Burton Barr Central Library, online sales, discount community book sales, and special events—to generate funding for Phoenix Public Library programs and services.

Provides book donations to local teachers, school librarians, and other educators in public schools through the BookStorm Program. Educators can request up to 500 books and schedule visits to the book donation warehouse to select specific titles, including a variety of genres and some Spanish language materials.

Raised over $1 million to complete the new central library in 1994 after bond funds were depleted, demonstrating a commitment to supporting significant library infrastructure projects.

Sells donated books, CDs, and DVDs online, at community book sales, and through a dedicated bookstore (Friends' Place Bookstore) to generate funding for Phoenix Public Library programs and services. This includes special sales and events at the bookstore and selling book-themed merchandise.

Arranges visits from a literacy outreach specialist to schools to help students obtain their first library cards and access library resources. The organization also hosts the annual Storyfest literacy festival at Burton Barr Central Library, serving approximately 1,000 attendees with free book giveaways, themed literacy activities, and a community partner expo.

Arranges visits from literacy outreach specialists to schools to help students obtain their first library cards and access library resources, bringing the public library directly into school communities.

Provides financial and operational support for a wide range of programs and services across all 17 Phoenix Public Libraries, including Summer Reading, Amazing Library Card, Kids Café, Seed Library, STEM, Storytime, Teen Makers, and Black History Month programming.

Funds and supports a wide range of Phoenix Public Library programs including Summer Reading, Storytime, Black History Month events, Kids Café, Seed Library, STEM, Teen Makers, Amazing Library Card, and College Depot software, across all 17 library branches.

Engages the public in advocacy efforts to protect the Phoenix library system by raising awareness of budget and accessibility issues, providing eNews alerts about advocacy opportunities, and encouraging public membership to strengthen collective advocacy, particularly during the city’s budget cycle.

Supported major library infrastructure initiatives through advocacy and fundraising, including rallying support for the 1988 art bond, supporting bonds for new branches, collecting nearly 20,000 postcards in 2010 to prevent library closures, and raising over $1 million to complete the central library in 1994 after bond funds were exhausted.

Engages the public in advocacy efforts to protect Phoenix's library system by raising awareness of budget and accessibility issues. This includes providing eNews alerts about library-related issues and advocacy opportunities, particularly during the City of Phoenix’s spring budget proposal cycle, and encouraging public membership to strengthen collective advocacy.

Supports the Phoenix Public Library system through membership gifts and donations, which have funded over 500 unique library programs and services, and by supporting software for College Depot.

Strengthens library capacity by funding over 500 unique programs and services through membership gifts and donations, including critical software support for College Depot.