Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library

In November 1890, Santa Monica town trustees accepted a donation of 800 books, forming the foundation for what would grow into the Santa Monica Public Library. The library started in two rooms in the Bank of Santa Monica building located at Third Street and Oregon Avenue, now known as Santa Monica Boulevard. From these modest beginnings, the library has grown to five locations with roughly 400,000 volumes in its catalog.

The Friends of Santa Monica Library is deeply committed to the mission and vision of the library. Volunteers advocate for and educate the community about the library's operations, community access, staffing, materials, programming, and technology. The Friends draw attention to restoring vital funding to the library by providing advocacy updates and calls to action to keep residents informed and updated. As a long-time funder of library programs, the group seeks to unite bibliophiles and support community engagement and involvement through volunteer recruitment, fundraising, and advocacy. Through their long-time funding for the Summer Reading Program, Career, and College Preparation programs for school-aged residents, and services and support for senior community members, the Friends of Santa Monica Library know and understand that the Santa Monica community deserves the library's vital programming.