Acerca de
Who We Are
FRIENDS of the Charleston County Library (CFOL)was founded in 1982 by Charleston County Library employee Sara Breibart to support programs at the Charleston Public Library.
CFOL has grown significantly over the past 40+ years with a diverse membership from across the county and beyond. CFOL operates as an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit, proudly funding programming that benefits tens of thousands of our neighbors across all 18 branches across the Charleston County Public Library (CCPL) system.
​
Why We Exist
As a government (county / state) funded entity, the Charleston County Public Library is very restricted in how they use the funds they are allocated. With over 200,000 library cardholders (including 17,000 new in 2022) and more than 1.133 million user visits in that same period, our library is central to our community.
CFOL and CCPL have a shared understanding and vision for the critical importance of community programming and staff development. Our passion for the Charleston County Public Library and our community; ,promoting literacy, reading and learning; and creating equal access to opportunity are at the heart of everything we do at CFOL.
​
Our Impact
CFOL provides funding for hundreds of CCPL programs for all ages, infants to seniors, that promote literacy and healthy lifestyles, increase access to technology, and events that bring our community members together.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
We also provide thousands of free books a year to underserved communities and to local non-profit organizations who lack the resources to acquire books on their own.
​
How We Do It
We are membership supported and also benefit from community donations as well as sponsorships. We organize multiple used book sales around the county including our annual That BIG Book Sale (since 1982) and all of our books are generously donated by our community. We also organize numerous other fundraising events throughout the year in partnership with local businesses and authors.
Value of FRIENDS Membership
-
Membership shows your support for our library, literacy, reading, learning in the Charleston County community and benefits tens of thousands of our neighbors each year.
-
Get early “members only” access to all book sales
-
Discounted ticket prices / early access for CFOL paid events.
-
You’ll meet a passionate and diverse group of new friends.
-
Membership is tax deductible and begins at only $25 a year
Get Involved!
-
Participate in one of our many volunteer opportunities, including book sales, the book donation sorting room, community outreach and many more!
-
Join one of our committees (book sales, development, marketing, and volunteer)
-
Give us your [gently used] books - our community contributes 100% of the tens of thousands of books we sell each year
-
Hold a fundraising event through your business
-
And of course, sign up on our website and follow us on Social Media to stay up to date on the FRIENDS!
As a lifetime lover of books and libraries, I am thrilled with the opportunity to work with CFOL, supporting programs that provide access and equity for all of our neighbors through Charleston County Public Libraries. I cannot thank you enough for supporting FRIENDS!
Warm regards,
Leah Donaldson
Executive Director, Charleston FRIENDS of the Library
