Friends and Foundation of the San Francisco Public Library (Friends) is a diverse community of individual and individuals, families and institutions who love our San Francisco Public Library and work to make it exceptional. We champion free public access to information, resources and opportunities for all people. We envision the future of our libraries as robust centers of 21st Century literacy, economic opportunity, life-long learning, discovery and community life.
Our mission is to strengthen, support and advocate for a premier public library system in San Francisco.
We are the Library’s
Investors bridging the funding gap between what the city provides and the cost of additional programs, resources and services that San Franciscans want and need
Advocates for strong and permanent local public funding
Champions of the value of the Library in our community
We pursue our mission in two ways. First, we raise philanthropic support in the private sector and earned revenue from the resale of used books through our Community Book Program. Funds raised from both sources are dedicated to direct annual support the SFPL to enhance programming, collections and material needs and to sustain Friends’ operations, advocacy, book, and volunteer programs. Second, we educate the community and advocate to ensure that San Francisco maintains a local commitment to adequate and sustainable public funding for its Libraries through the Library Preservation Fund, the source of 98% of the SFPL’s budget. Our history is grounded in successful efforts to rejuvenate a poorly funded and struggling system into the premier urban Library we enjoy today.
