Our Successes

Bibliophiles who buy from our book stores and special sales find great books at unbeatable prices, and the Ottawa Friends have raised $2.2 million for Ottawa’s public libraries since 1981.

The Friends also advocate for the Ottawa Public Library, and we have experienced some wonderful results.

• In 2007, our Save Our Services mail-in campaign helped prevent the closure of 10 library branches
• In 2008, our advocacy efforts helped prevent a reduction in the 2008 library budget 
• In 2009, we advocated to federal government for infrastructure grants
• In 2010, we launched the Love Our Libraries campaign to track candidates’ views of the OPL before the municipal election
• In 2011, we began a new line of operation by partnering with the online bookseller, Better World Books