What is the difference between the Foundation, the Library and the Friends of OPL?
The Ottawa Public Library Foundation, a registered charity, raises funds to enhance the resources and services provided by the Library.
The Foundation provides funds for collections, electronic resources, technology and educational programs. The Foundation seeks to sustain the library as a major bilingual public institution that is freely accessible to all.
The Ottawa Public Library is the largest bilingual English-French library system in North America. Its 33 branches throughout Ottawa provide each community and neighbourhood with library services that are free and accessible to all. It supports literacy, lifelong learning, bilingualism, love of reading and intellectual freedom.
The Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association raises money from the sale of donated books, membership fees and the donation boxes placed in most branches. It also organizes volunteers and publishes an anthology of children’s writing.
Why donate to the Ottawa Public Library Foundation?
The Ottawa Public Library’s core funding comes from municipal taxes and covers staff, buildings, equipment, and collections.
But Ottawa is growing. The evergrowing need for new technology, resources for adult literacy and learning, and programming for cultural services in both French and English places fresh demands on the Ottawa Public Library. The Ottawa Public Library Foundation is committed to sustaining those public services. Your donation is needed to sustain these vital services and programs and to ensure that they remain free and accessible to all.