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2019 Annual Impact

A Year With the Friends

Here’s what members, volunteers, donors, and neighbors made possible in 2019.

83
members in 2019
$20,393
raised in 2019
$20,272
for the library & its people

01 · The People

The Friends Behind It

83 members stood behind the library in 2019, as recorded in that year's minutes. Membership is the steady base every book sale and grant is built on.

02 · What They Raised

Volunteers Made It Possible

16
volunteers gave 84 hours
becomes →
$15,548
from book sales, 76% of the $20,393 raised

Those hours go into book sales, events, and behind-the-scenes help, wherever an extra set of hands is needed; the semiannual sales and the ongoing shelf are run entirely by volunteers. Reserves ended the year at $45,292, the cushion that lets the Friends give even in lean years.

Where 2019 income came from

Raised, and spent for the library, by year

See the full financials →

03 · What Support Made Possible

What the Friends Funded in 2019

The projects below came to $26,640. The treasurer’s records show $20,272 of the year’s spending going toward the library and its people, through direct grants and staff and volunteer appreciation. More than $128,300 for the library and its people since 2017.

$6,850
Summer Learning support
Summer Reading
$5,154
Equity and inclusion training for staff
Staff
$991
Meeting room projector and tables
Technology
$5,694
LSTA grant support
General

Every project we've funded →

03b · One Program, Up Close

Summer Reading in 2019

Summer Reading is one of the things we’re proud to support each year. The 2019 theme was “A Universe of Stories”.

Level five: rockets climbing toward the moon
Level five: rockets climbing toward the moon
Professor Whizzpop, to a full meeting room
Professor Whizzpop, to a full meeting room
The Grown-Up Edition log sheet
The Grown-Up Edition log sheet
The point of all of it
The point of all of it

Reading progress was measured in rockets: hundreds of paper ships climbing the library's Level 5 wall toward the moon. Kids and teens finished in July, while the Grown-Up Edition continued into August.

Explore the full Summer Reading archive →

The Library in 2019

Friends support is only part of the story. Here’s what was happening at the library itself.

In Their Words

"The Friends’ support provides nourishment to turn our librarians’ bright ideas into flourishing resources for the community. The value of service and volunteer help by the Friends contributes to the thriving growth of the Orange County Main Library."

– Nancy Crews, Branch Manager

Thank you all for your support! We couldn't do this without you!

OCPL librarian

Thank you for all you do to support us!

OCPL librarian

Read more stories →

15 years of newsletters in the archive, going back to 2011.

Browse the archive

None of this happens without you. Thank you for being a Friend.

Join the Friends

Membership is the base it all stands on.

Become a Member

Make a Gift

What we raise supports library grants, programs, and future needs.

Donate

Volunteer

The book sales run on volunteers.

Lend a Hand
Two mice reading back to back against a leaf, with the hand-lettered words Friends of the Orange County Public Library
Illustration by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell, gifted to the Friends 2026