Funding Priorities set by the Library
The Ottawa Public Library is an outstanding public service open to all the people of Ottawa. But municipal taxes are not enough to sustain the largest bilingual library on the continent. Many people benefit from the library’s services and programs. For small businesses and workers, the Ottawa Public Library is a major resource centre. For newcomers and longtime residents, the public library is a social, cultural and economic centre.
Your donation to the Foundation will help fund some of the more urgent needs and programs of the Ottawa Public Library.
Kids and the Joy of Reading
Many branches of the Ottawa Public Library provide storytelling and reading groups for children of all ages. These early childhood reading programs help the child and the parent, the family and the school, to develop the child’s ability to read.
Adult learning and overcoming illiteracy
The Ottawa Public Library provides many programs and services to assist adults to learn to read or improve their reading skills.
Illiteracy is not merely an individual problem, it affects our community and our city. Adults who have poor reading, writing and numbering skills want to overcome their illiteracy. They respond overwhelming to any literacy campaign. The Library has a role to play in overcoming this hardship.
Reading and learning are lifelong experiences. Many adults who know one language want to learn another language. The library’s collections include books in English and French, and the many other languages spoken in Ottawa, such as Arabic, Chinese and Russian.
The Ottawa Public Library Foundation provides funding to help sustain these essential services for adults in our community.
Teen Resources: Our Support
The new technologies have had major impact on teens. They have new ways of seeing, new ways of reading. They also sometimes leave high school without completing it. The gaming centres, teen resources and facilities provide a place where teens can receive support and encouragement. This helps high school students stay in school and achieve their best potential.
The Ottawa Public Library Foundation provides funding for these programs and services.
Overcoming Disabilities
Some patrons of the Ottawa Public Library require assistive technology to use its services and programs. The new technologies are expensive but essential and highly beneficial for those with disabilities. The Foundation provides funding for assistive technologies. To date the Foundation has allocated $30,000 towards this priority. But more is needed.
The ability to read and write cannot be taken for granted. These are skills most of us acquired early in childhood, that carry us through school, work and leisure. Literacy is a lifelong experience that needs to be continually sustained and nurtured.
Your gift to the Ottawa Public Library Foundation helps sustain these important programs and services which your public library offers to all Ottawans