Our Mission
We are made up of dedicated members who support and promote library programs and activities through fundraising, grants and donations. We believe that the library enriches lives and strengthens the Harris County community through its innovative services.
A thank you from Linda, Division
Director for Programs, Partnerships and Outreach
Thank you Friends for your support of our annual Summer Reading Program and all that goes with it! This year, our registration for the reading challenge was up 19% and program completion was up 16% from last year. That is a huge jump, considering we usually plan for 3-5% increases. The readers of HCPL read over 7,000,000 minutes this summer, which was recognized with a resolution in Commissioners Court. Take that, summer slide!
During June and July, HCPL offered over 2,000 programs, attended by over 42,000 people. You probably saw that surge in activity as you visited your branches. The support that you offer to the system for prize books and the support offered locally to support programming is invaluable and can be conveyed best by the happy faces in the pictures . We appreciate our Friends!
Harris County Friends of the Library (HCFOL) supports literacy, programming, collection development, and organizational growth in the most heavily populated county in Texas. Some of the programs we support are the popular Summer Reading Program, Book Buddies, and Tournament of Books. We also provide grants to every HCPL branch, and offer scholarships to HCPL employees pursuing a degree in library science.
More than 2.1 million people came through our doors and were served by the Harris County Public Library system in 2022.
Over fifteen thousand programs are presented annually at Harris County Public Library branches and in the community.
During 2022, over fifty-two thousand teens, kids, and babies participated in the Summer Reading Program.
Whatever your level of interest may be, we want you! We are always looking for new Friends to join us, or we can connect you to your closest branch if you are looking for library volunteer opportunities. If you are short on time but still want to support our mission, please consider donating! Your donations go to support the HCPL Summer Reading Program, Book Buddies, Tournament of Books, and much, much more!
Your dollars count! Without your support, we could not provide crucial support to a variety of HCPL programs and services.
