Invest in Your Community
Invest in Your Library

We support libraries through fundraising, advocacy, and programming.

We Believe in the Library. We Invest in the Library.

The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library believes that libraries are essential. We act as a catalyst for libraries to strengthen and inspire their communities. Learn more in this short video about our work.

Books and so much more

Libraries are the best way to strengthen communities because they connect individuals of every age, ethnicity, and background with resources that enrich and improve lives.

Maker Spaces

The library provides technology and space for innovation. Saint Paul resident, Rachel created a package prototype at the George Latimer Central Library.

Small Business Resources

The library helps the local economy. Darren and Oie were able to start their own company using small business resources at Central Library.

Homework Help

The library provides educational support. Ramla's daughter improved her grades thanks to homework help at the Arlington Hills Community Center.

Digital Literacy Training

The library provides opportunity to grow your skills. One of our patrons, Nancy got promoted after taking a digital literacy class at the Rondo Library.

Has the Public Library Made an Impact in Your Life or Community?

Here's How The Friends Invests

Even in a city that loves its libraries, public funding isn’t enough for libraries to provide all the important resources that residents seek.

The Library, part of the City of Saint Paul, depends on The Friends to support those resources. As an independent nonprofit, The Friends invests in libraries so that they, and the communities they serve, thrive.

We Raise Money

We Advocate

We Produce Programming

We Consult

Stronger Libraries for Stronger Communities

“I don’t know how to help my child with their homework, so this helps them. We love it here, and the kids want to come.”

– Safiya, mother

“This storytime means so much to me because my kids get to learn their native language.”

– Po, parent

“The library brings people together. It’s a place to come together around community and information.”

– Darren, small-business owner

“The best thing about this program is that it has all the resources a low-income student may need to do well in school… along with a safe learning environment for students to work.”

– Mai Xee, student

The need for a strong library is greater than ever.

Upcoming Events

Mar
20
Thu
Exhibit: Gatsby & Fitzgerald Collection @ The Minnesota History Center
Mar 20 @ 10:00 am – May 31 @ 4:00 pm

Exhibit: Gatsby & Fitzgerald Collection at the Minnesota Historical Society
March 20 – May 31 2025
The Minnesota History Center
345 West Kellogg Boulevard, Saint Paul 

View objects from Fitzgerald’s life and world on display at the History Center. Items from the collection will be on display in the Gale Family Library through May. Entry is free.  

Gatsby at 100
2025 is the 100th anniversary of the publication of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby. To mark this milestone, The Friends will convene a variety of programs that invite us to revisit the book and consider how its themes apply today. Learn more and browse programs here. 

Apr
29
Tue
One Book | One Minnesota Virtual Author Conversation @ Virtual
Apr 29 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am

One Book | One Minnesota Virtual Author Conversation 
Tuesday, April 29 | 10:00 a.m. 
With Diane Wilson, Sun Yung Shin, Shannon Gibney & John Coy
Free and open to the public | Register here

The authors of the featured title will join in a statewide virtual conversation about their book and their work. One Book | One Minnesota is a statewide book club that invites Minnesotans of all ages to read a common title and come together virtually to enjoy, reflect, and discuss. From March 10 through May 5, through their local libraries, Minnesotans are invited to read the featured book selection and will have access to reading guides, and virtual book club discussions. Readers can access the eBook for free on Ebooks Minnesota for eight weeks.

About Where We Come From
In this unique collaboration, four authors lyrically explore where they each come from – literally and metaphorically – as well as what unites all of us as humans. Richly layered illustrations connect past and present, making for an accessible and visually striking look at history, family, and identity.

One Book | One Minnesota is presented by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, as the Minnesota Center for the Book, in partnership with State Library Services and sponsored by Blaze Credit Union. Program partners also include AmazeWorks, Council of Regional Public Library System Administrators; Lerner Publishing; Mackin VIA; Minitex; and the Minnesota Department of Education. This program is made possible in part through an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature to The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library as the Minnesota Center for the Book.

More information at www.thefriends.org/onebook

May
1
Thu
Featured Book Collection: Minnesota Women Authors of the 1920’s @ George Latimer Central Library
May 1 @ 10:00 am – May 31 @ 5:30 pm

Minnesota Women Authors of the 1920’s – Featured Collection
May 2025
George Latimer Central Library | Magazine Room (Third Floor)
90 West 4th Street, Saint Paul  

Go beyond F. Scott Fitzgerald with the Saint Paul Public Library’s collection. Check out the work of women writing in the 1920s at George Latimer Central all month long.  

Gatsby at 100
2025 is the 100th anniversary of the publication of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby. To mark this milestone, The Friends will convene a variety of programs that invite us to revisit the book and consider how its themes apply today. Learn more and browse programs here. 

This publication was made possible in part by the people of Minnesota through a grant funded by an appropriation to the Minnesota Historical Society from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Any views, findings, opinions, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the State of Minnesota, the Minnesota Historical Society, or the Minnesota Historic Resources Advisory Committee.

May
21
Wed
Books & Bars: “The Ministry of Time” by Kaliane Bradley @ Sociable Ciderwerks
May 21 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

Wedsday, May 21
6:30 p.m. Discussion

Sociable Ciderwerks
1500 Fillmore St NE
Minneapolis

This event is FREE and open to the public.

In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.

She is tasked with working as a “bridge”: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how—and whether she believes—what she does next can change the future.


With The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, moderator Jeff Kamin brings his unique take on a public book club show to Saint Paul. Even if you don’t like the featured book, he “guarantees a good time at our entertaining discussions.” All are welcome to try this moderated reinvention of the book club.

May
27
Tue
Books & Bars: “The Ministry of Time” by Kaliane Bradley @ Urban Growler
May 27 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

Tuesday, May 27
6:30 p.m. Discussion

Urban Growler                                                             
2325 Endicott Street
St. Paul

This event is FREE and open to the public.

In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.

She is tasked with working as a “bridge”: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how—and whether she believes—what she does next can change the future.


With The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, moderator Jeff Kamin brings his unique take on a public book club show to Saint Paul. Even if you don’t like the featured book, he “guarantees a good time at our entertaining discussions.” All are welcome to try this moderated reinvention of the book club.

The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library Blog

36 Finalists Blog 2025: Michelle S. Phelps

Michelle S. Phelps, author of The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction Category, sponsored by Annette and John Whaley Each week leading up to the 37th annual Minnesota Book Awards, we are featuring exclusive interviews with our finalists. You can also watch the authors…
Read More

36 Finalists Blog 2025: Cathy Coats

Cathy Coats, author of To Banish Forever: A Secret Society, the Ho-Chunk, and Ethnic Cleansing in Minnesota Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction Category, sponsored by Annette and John Whaley Each week leading up to the 37th annual Minnesota Book Awards, we are featuring exclusive interviews with our finalists. You can also watch the authors…
Read More

36 Finalists Blog 2025: Christopher P. Lehman

Christopher P. Lehman, author of It Took Courage: Eliza Winston’s Quest for Freedom Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction Category, sponsored by Annette and John Whaley Each week leading up to the 37th annual Minnesota Book Awards, we are featuring exclusive interviews with our finalists. You can also watch the authors in conversation with their…
Read More

The need for a strong library is greater than ever.