Chicago Public Library Foundation

The Chicago Public Library Foundation (Library Foundation) is an independent nonprofit that exists to accelerate the potential of the Chicago Public Library by investing in resources that transform lives and communities. It connects individuals, corporations, neighborhood organizations, and city agencies committed to building a stronger and more equitable Chicago. The Library Foundation seeks to make pathways to learning, creativity, and civic engagement accessible to Chicagoans of all ages through investments across three funding priority areas: Close the Academic Opportunity Gap, Activate Creativity & Connection for All, and Bridge the Digital Divide. The award provides general operating support to the Library Foundation, including helping to advance Activating Access, an effort aimed at responding to the growing challenge of banned books and broader threats against the public library sector.

Founded in 1986, the Chicago Public Library Foundation is the exclusive fundraising partner to the Chicago Public Library (CPL). The CPL, established in 1873, encourages lifelong learning for Chicagoans by operating 81 branches that offer free access to its collections, exhibits, and events. With this award, the CPL Foundation collaborates with CPL on a project titled, “Imagining the Library of the Future.” The project entails (1) a meeting of librarians and civic leaders to discuss the ideal library; (2) a multi-month design process to develop a strategic plan; and (3) learning exchanges with other libraries in the United States and overseas. These activities inform CPL’s design of a new library branch to be constructed within the Obama Presidential Center in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago.

The Chicago Public Library's main library is the home of YOUmedia, an innovative space where teens have access to library resources, technology, and in-person and online mentors. Created in 2009 with Foundation resources based on findings from Foundation-funded research, YOUmedia has attracted widespread interest from U.S. and international libraries, museums, and out-of-school providers, many of which are eager to replicate the space and its programs. This grant will be used to implement YOUmedia in most of the Chicago Public Library’s 77 branch libraries and expand existing YOUmedia programs to include explicit connections to career and academic opportunities.

The Chicago Public Library’s main library is the home of YOUmedia, an innovative space where teens access library resources, technology, and in-person and online mentors. Created in 2009 with Foundation resources based on findings from Foundation-funded ethnographic research, YOUmedia has attracted widespread attention from libraries, museums, and out-of-school providers around the country and abroad, many of whom are eager to replicate the space and its programs. This grant provides continuing support for existing YOUmedia services at the main branch and three branch libraries in Chicago as they plan for long-term sustainability.

In support of the national replication of YouMedia and application of the design principles to institutional change in the Chicago Public Library.