Meet Shyniesha (Shy), who has participated in the Central Library’s Raising A Reader program for 14 years!
Shy attended Tonia Burton’s “Tuesday Topics” presentation on the importance of Early Literacy (held January 14, 2025), to serve as an advocate for the Library programs.
She says her four children have all benefited from Raising a Reader and she wanted to help other parents learn about the program.
FFRPL has provided significant funding to the Children’s division and to the “Raising A Reader” program, thanks to generous support from grantors and individual donors.
“By the grace of God I walked through the doors of the Library. Now I’m seeing light. Now I’m seeing a whole different picture.” — Willie Campbell
When you meet Willie Campbell, you understand why the Library is such an important community resource. Willie is a single Dad with disabilities. He was struggling to support himself and his three children, and he knew that something needed to change.
In 2022, when Willie came to the library, it was the first time he had used a computer. Now Willie is the proud owner of Cleaning Enterprises, Inc., which serves commercial businesses. Central Library’s John Lovenheim Center for Technology and Innovation provided Willie with access to computers and computer instruction, free Internet, services such as faxing and copying, and space for him to hold meetings and conduct interviews.
FFRPL played a critical role in the creation of Central Library’s Technology Center. In FY2017-18, FFRPL raised more than $1.4 million for the Library’s “From Collections to Community” Capital Campaign, supplementing additional funds from Library, City, County and NY State partners. The final phase of the multi-year project was Central Library’s Technology Center; construction began in FY2019-20,and the Center opened (with COVID restrictions in place) early Fall 2020. The renaming and dedication of the John Lovenheim Center for Technology and Innovation was held on April 28, 2023.
Learn more about Willie Campbell’s story
Parma Public Library has new At-Home Storytime Kits that are now available for checkout.
FFRPL funded the project by a grant through the Harold Hacker Fund for the Advancement of Libraries (in partnership with the Rochester Regional Library Council/RRLC).
These items were designed for families, caregivers, and classes.
Each At-Home storytime kit includes books for read-aloud storytelling, interactive items, a storytime outline and rhyme sheet and early literacy information. The kits come packaged in convenient backpacks. Topics include shapes, opposites, things that go, pets, movements, feelings and more!
FFRPL supported a special Memory Care project at Greece Public Library, through a grant from the Harold Hacker Fund for the Advancement of Libraries (in partnership with the Rochester Regional Library Council/RRLC).
Greece area residents living with memory issues — and their care partners – now have new resources available at the Greece Public Library. The Library’s new interactive “Stay Sharp” kits include fun and engaging items to spark conversation, reminiscing, and brain activity. Learn more
Mayor Malik D. Evans was joined on December 16, 2024, by N.Y. State Senator Jeremy Cooney and library personnel and partners for a ribbon-cutting ceremony launching RPL GO! — the Rochester Public Library’s new mobile library. The custom-converted and wrapped sprinter van will provide on-site, pop-up library services such as computer classes and story times to locations that can’t easily provide customers with transportation to a library.
RPL GO! will operate out of the Lyell Branch Library to transport free library resources and services to senior living facilities, childcare centers, community organizations, the Monroe County Jail’s school system, the Rochester Correctional Facility Work Release Program, as well as to community events such as festivals, public markets, and other locations.
The City’s new RPL GO! mobile library celebrates the legacy of Leroy Cox who drove an older bookmobile in Rochester for 25 years. Watch the video of Cox’s daughter as she shared her sentiments on the mobile library being dedicated in his memory.
FFRPL was proud to play a minor role in this project. Along with Senator Jeremy Cooney, FFRPL co-sponsored the RIT College of Art & Design Mobile Outreach Van design project teams, who were tasked with re-imagining a modern Mobile Library concept. Learn more
Youth from the Safe to be Smart program visited Washington D.C. July 26 – 28, 2024. The itinerary included the National Museum of African American History and Culture, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, White House, Frederick Douglass Statue at the Capitol building’s Visitor Center, Library of Congress, Howard University, and Memorials for Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. and WWII veterans.
The Safe to Be Smart trip to D.C. was funded by Friends & Foundation of the Rochester Public Library through generous support from donors, the Konar Foundation, and Reynolds Library. Learn more
As the Founding Sponsor of RPL’s Online Author Talks, FFRPL helps the Rochester Public Library present dozens of events with bestselling authors and thought leaders every year.
More than 7,771 patrons watched the 36 online talks during the most recent Fiscal Year (July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024).
