The Charleston Friends of the Library is a nonprofit organization that supports and advocates for the Charleston County Public Library system. We raise money to fund more than 7,000 programs sponsored annually by the library, including Summer Reading. To accomplish our goal of advocating for and enhancing the library system, we provide opportunities for the community to invest in their public library through donations of time, money, and books. This year, tens of thousands were helped through supporting the Charleston Friends of the Library. Those helped included young children learning to value reading with help from the Summer Reading Program; teens needing a positive after-school environment; the unemployed building job skills; workers seeking tax assistance; and others reaching across language and cultural barriers, fulfilling personal passions. (Yes, a lot more than borrowing books goes on at our library). There is one place in Charleston, a village square, where everyone congregates equally – the public library. For over 30 years, the majority of our library program funding is provided through regional book sales and our annual That BIG Book Sale held in the fall and mid-winter in Charleston.