Description
Ten years ago, a group of local leaders wanted to foster a child's love of reading, partner with parents and caregivers to support the development of skills that lead to literacy, and enable their friends and neighbors to explore the world through the work of authors and poets. They decided to make a good library great. In the fall of 1997, these visionaries formed the Phoenix Public Library Foundation - an organization which has raised more than $3 million for Library programs and services since its creation. More than 85,000 children have read over one million books in reading programs the Foundation has sponsored, discovering the fun that can be found in a good book. The Foundation helped the Library host nationally-touring exhibits, enabling us to experience the Sixties through Linda McCartney's photographs, to deepen our understanding of the Holocaust, and to share the challenge and the triumph of female athletes. More than 12,000 people visited these exhibits and learned more about these important topics through presentations by local and national scholars. The Foundation raised money to develop state-of-the-art facilities for children, teens and adults at locations around Phoenix . The libraries the Foundation has made better include Acacia, Burton Barr Central Library, Cesar Chavez, Cholla, Desert Sage, Juniper and Palo Verde. Currently the Foundation is working to make Agave Library the next jewel in this system of treasures. The Phoenix Public Library Foundation has also brought world-class authors and poets to Phoenix , giving the community an opportunity to experience for themselves wonderful writers and their works. Visiting authors have included Pam Houston, The Honorable Sandra Day O'Connor, Anita Diamant, Andrei Codrescu, J.A. Jance, Jewell Parker Rhodes, Gail Tsukiyama, Luis Urrea and Simon Ortiz.
