Mission & Vision

The DeKalb Library Foun­da­tion is a 501c3 non­prof­it orga­ni­za­tion. Estab­lished in 1998, the mis­sion of the DeKalb Library Foun­da­tion is to pro­vide sup­port for DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library (DCPL) beyond pub­lic fund­ing and to enrich the lives of DeKalb Coun­ty cit­i­zens through edu­ca­tion­al, cul­tur­al and lit­er­ary pro­grams and ser­vices. The Foun­da­tion val­ues a lit­er­ate com­mu­ni­ty, open access to infor­ma­tion, and the library as a com­mu­ni­ty gath­er­ing place. The DeKalb Library Foun­da­tion envi­sions the DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library as a resource for a life­time of learn­ing that will build an edu­cat­ed, informed DeKalb community.

DCPL has approx­i­mate­ly 183,000 card­hold­ers who vis­it the 23 library loca­tions approx­i­mate­ly 2.3 mil­lion times a year check­ing out more than three mil­lion items. In typ­i­cal years, the Foundation’s sup­port allows the library to offer hun­dreds of spe­cial pro­grams. A few of the larg­er pro­grams are 1000 Books Before Kinder­garten which sup­ports fam­i­ly in read­ing ear­ly and often with their babies and young chil­dren; Sum­mer Read­ing Pro­gram which offers books and spe­cial enrich­ment pro­gram­ming dur­ing the sum­mer months; and the Take the Inter­net Home with You ini­tia­tive which allows patrons to check out hotspot devices for use in their homes. It is because of pro­grams such as these that Geor­gia Pub­lic Library Ser­vice named DCPL the 2018 Library of the Year.