About the library > Support Your Library
Support Your Library
Multnomah County Library is a great library because of its many supporters, and there are many ways to get involved.
Friends of the Library is a nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1972 to support Multnomah County Library. With funds raised through membership dues, annual used book sales and the Friends' Library Store at Central Library, the Friends of the Library supports a variety of library programs (including Pageturners and School Corps) and promotes public involvement in the library.
The Library Foundation was founded over a decade ago to further the work of Multnomah County Library, supporting the library's leadership and innovation and helping the library address emerging community needs through private support. The foundation and the library work together, in a strong partnership, to determine where private funds can be leveraged to have the greatest impact and at the same time, not supplant the public's responsibility for funding a strong library system. Since its founding in 1995, The Library Foundation has raised over $35 million. In 2003, in response to a critical community need, the foundation identified children's literacy as its top priority. With a focus on children at risk, private donations help extend books and reading into schools, housing developments, childcare centers, Head Start classrooms, federal free lunch sites, homeless shelters and more. The Library Foundation is one of only 14 Portland nonprofits to receive the highest rating given by Charity Navigator, the largest charity watchdog organization in the nation.
Multnomah County Library's Volunteer Services offers a variety of fulfilling and interesting volunteer positions that enhance library services as diverse as Summer Reading, Cyber Seniors and The Title Wave Used Bookstore.