Albany Public Library Foundation

APLF recently bought some new foundation plantings for the Carnegie Library, which were installed by the fine folks at Albany Parks & Recreation. Last week, Parks & Recreation added a bit of color with some seasonal plantings at the corner. With the added splash of a hanging basket, the library is ready for its summer season.

Coming later this summer: cleaning and repainting the front steps!

This is a great program. So glad it's available to kids in our area.

Join us at Carnegie each Saturday morning for some family fun. We'll mix it up and offer a variety of activities: bingo, scavenger hunts, escape room challenges, swap days, craft days, and special weeks when we will bring over some of our maker items from Main. It will be fun each week, so come hang out with April on Saturday mornings at our Carnegie (downtown) location.

Read about the connection between The Modern Travelers Club and Albany's first library in our latest blog post.

The Modern Travelers Club and the Albany Public Library By Barbara Krochta In February 1898, a group of eight Albany women established a study club for the purpose of pursuing a “light course of study,” as well as pleasant social interaction with friend…

What a great addition to the library!

What APLF Accomplished: FY 2022-2023

The primary purpose of the Albany Public Library Foundation is to insure the viability of the Carnegie branch, the historic home of today’s active library system. APLF also contributes to other library efforts, for the Carnegie can only continue its contribution when the system as a whole is thriving.

When you know that APLF has assets of more than a million dollars, you may be surprised that our support of the Carnegie branch this past 2022-2023 fiscal year was a seemingly paltry $1,000 or so! What did we get for that? We paid for new plantings around the library, installed by Albany Parks & Recreation, which also fixed the irrigation system and mulched the plants. Come take a look!

But we did more. APLF also contributed $4,500 toward the library system’s summer story hour program. The Saturday story hour at the Carnegie was very popular this year, which boosted the branch’s activity. We also contributed to the library’s innovative Story Walk at Sunrise Park. Finally, APLF made a major contribution of $55,000 to the library system’s acquisition funds, which is used to purchase books, audio and video materials, and database access used by all patrons. While the city funds staff salaries and building maintenance, all the money for acquisitions comes from APLF, the Friends of the Albany Public Library, and other donations.

The new landscaping will be much more impressive next spring!

Story Walk
New book installation!

Our foundation president recently visited the Carnegie Library in Las Vegas, NM. Read about it below...

Viva Las Vegas! Viva Las Vegas! Not that flimflam in Nevada, but the charming railroad town in New Mexico. A small city about the size of Astoria, Las Vegas, like Albany (and Astoria!), contains a treasure trove o…

The Library will be back at the Albany Farmers' Market this summer!

APL will be at AFM from 9-noon on following dates. They'll have Summer Reading Program sign ups for all ages and a scavenger hunt for kids. Come by and say hi!

June 10, 17 & 24

July 1 & 15

August 5 & 19

Sept 2

Mark your calendars 📅!

The Friends of the Albany Public Library are holding our next book sale on Friday, June 2 and Saturday, June 3!

We will be setting up the sale on June 1 and need your HELP! If you can volunteer for an hour or two, helping set up the book sale we appreciate all the help we can get. Please email [email protected] or message us. We will get back to you as soon as possible.

Thank you!

May is Get Caught Reading Month. Show us a picture of your reading adventures. 📖

It's National Library Week! 💳📚A great time to visit the library. The Carnegie is open Wednesday and Thursday from 1pm - 6pm, Friday and Saturday from 10am - 1pm.

Story Time at Carnegie

Fridays at 10:30 am
Join us at the beautiful Carnegie library every Friday morning for some family story time fun. We'll read books, sing songs, and sometimes add a craft if the theme is right. This is a small but mighty group, and we would love to add you to our mix.

The APLF is proud to be sponsor of this exciting project! 🚶🏻‍♂️🚶🏻‍♀️📚

StoryWalk is now open in Sunrise Park! This new park feature was created in partnership with Albany Public Library and Albany Parks & Recreation.

The book this month is Waiting for the Bibioburro/Esperando el bilbioburro by Monica Brown, we will be changing out the book seasonally, so be sure to come back and see what our next book will be! If you don’t know what a StoryWalk is, it’s a creative and interactive way of sharing a story that involves taking a walk through the park.

The story is broken up into different sections, and each section is displayed on a sign along the path. As you walk along the route, you stop at each sign and read the next part of the story. We are so excited to have this new feature in Sunrise park ( 2275 THURSTON ST).

StoryWalk is now open in Sunrise Park! This new park feature was created in partnership with Albany Public Library and Albany Parks & Recreation.

The book this month is Waiting for the Bibioburro/Esperando el bilbioburro by Monica Brown, we will be changing out the book seasonally, so be sure to come back and see what our next book will be! If you don’t know what a StoryWalk is, it’s a creative and interactive way of sharing a story that involves taking a walk through the park.

The story is broken up into different sections, and each section is displayed on a sign along the path. As you walk along the route, you stop at each sign and read the next part of the story. We are so excited to have this new feature in Sunrise park ( 2275 THURSTON ST).

Spring Break at the Library!

Stop by either library any day this week for some Spring Break fun. We will have crafting materials, a spring-themed scavenger hunt, puzzles and games, and a fun bulletin board contest. Celebrate some of your out of school time with us.

What is your favorite kind of library program? 📚🎶🎤

Did you know that the Albany Public Library Foundation has a website? Visit us at https://apl.foundation/

Did you know that the Albany Public Library Foundation upgraded the heating/cooling system at the Carnegie a few years ago? The new system is an efficient heat pump. During the summer it's certainly nice to keep the library cool.

When was the last time you visited the downtown Carnegie library? 🚪📚

A fun piece of history. A want ad looking for a site for the Carnegie Library from the Albany Democrat-Herald May 20, 1910.

On behalf of the board of directors of the Albany Public Library Foundation, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce—or re-introduce—you, and the members of the Albany City Council, to the Foundation...

Letter to the Albany City Council – Albany Oregon Public Library Foundation On behalf of the board of directors of the Albany Public Library Foundation, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce—or re-introduce—you, and the members of the Albany City Council, to the Foundation.