South San Francisco Friends of the Library

• Discovery Center and Makerspace
• Free Comic Book Day
• Learning Wheels
• Peninsula Library Comic Carts Fest (PLCAF)
• Summer Learning Events and Books
• Hack the Future and other STEM Programs
• Tumble Books
• Young Adult Novelist Convention (YANovCon)
• Youth Poet in Residence

• Baby Sign Language Storytime
• Bouncing Babies Storytime
• Cantonese Storytime
• Family Storytime
• Filipino Family Storytime
• Pajama Storytime
• STEM Storytime
• Stuffy Sleepover Storytime
• Spanish Bilingual Storytime

• Adult Crafternoon
• Adult Lego Group
• Asian Art Museum Community Speaker Series
• Author Talks and Presenters
• English Language Conversation Club
• Spanish Language Book Club

• Banned Books Week
• Black History Month
• Dia de Los Niños
• Filipino American Heritage Month
• Asian & Pacific American Heritage Month
• Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month
• Lunar New Year
• National Library Week
• Project Read of Northern SMC Trivia Night
• Volunteer Appreciation Day
• Holiday celebrations throughout the year*

Established in 1975, the South San Francisco Friends of the Library is a non-profit charitable organization made up of dedicated volunteers who are committed to support Library and literacy services that meet the growing needs of the Main and Grand Avenue Libraries which will enrich the lives of all community members.

The mission of the South San Francisco Friends of the Library is to work in partnership with our Library Management to enhance the public library collections, programs and services.

• Raise funds to supplement and enhance library programs, materials and equipment to meet the informational, educational and recreational needs of our community identified in the Library’s mission statement and to sponsor events.
• Encourage gifts of books, endowments and bequests to the library.
• Promote community support and focus public attention on library usage, facilities, resources and services.
• Inform members about issues affecting the library and provide an opportunity for library lovers to volunteer.
• Operate as a 100% volunteer organization so that all monies raised will benefit library programs and services.

We raise funds by:

Your monetary and material donations are very much appreciated and necessary to raise funds for South San Francisco Libraries. Thank You.

• Membership support, material and monetary donations, endowments, bequests and tribute giving.
• Daily book sales from the Friend’s Bookstore located outside the 3rd Floor Adult Library at the Main Library at 901 Civic Campus Way.
• Large-scale book sales and pop-up sales throughout the year. Please email libraryfriends@ssf.net with any questions.

The Friends of the Library have quarterly meetings scheduled on the second Tuesday of the month in January, April, July and October. Meetings begin at 6:00 PM and are located at the Main Library, 901 Civic Campus Way in the 2^nd Floor Community Room. All are welcome. 

View the Meeting Minutes

For information on the current happenings with the South San Francisco Friends of the Library, please click the letter from the Friends Board Members below. 

Letter to Membership(PDF, 170KB)

If you value books, library programs and life-long learning, you are invited to participate in our projects and activities. Friends support a wide variety of programs that benefit children and adults, the Project Read Trivia Challenge and other library events and services. 

Become a Friend to the South San Francisco Library by filling out a membership application(PDF, 138KB). For questions about the Friends, visit the library in person, e-mail or call (650) 829-3860.

• Armando Altamirano, President
• Gail Davison, Treasurer
• Julie Baldocchi, Secretary
• Ramona Altamirano, Membership
• Eleanor Breite, Member-at-Large
• Joanne Gordon, Member-at-Large

Daily book sales from the Friends of the Library Bookstore  located outside the 3^rd Floor Adult Library of the Main Library at 901 Civic Campus Way. 

Sign-up for the South San Francisco Library weekly newsletter to be notified of upcoming large-scale and pop-up book sales.

Weekly Newsletter Sign-up

Thank you for choosing to donate to our cause. Material donations are sold and all proceeds benefit our mission to enhance public library collections, programs and services.

The Friends gratefully accepts donation materials of good quality and good condition:

• Paperback and hardback fiction and non-fiction books published within the last 15 years
• DVDs and Blu-ray disks in their original cases/covers
• Books and music on CD in their original cases/covers
• Similar materials held by the Library

In addition, the library seeks donations of materials related to South San Francisco history, such as school yearbooks, for inclusion in the History Collection. While some items are added to the collection, most donations go to the Friends of the Library book sales.

Sorry, we cannot accept:

• Mildewed, moldy, smelly, water-damaged or badly-worn items
• Torn, pencil marked, highlighted or otherwise damaged books
• Textbooks, test books or computer books.
• VHS or cassette tapes
• Reader's Digest Condensed books or magazines
• Encyclopedias of any age
• Newspapers, coupons, calendars, notebooks or catalogs
• Magazines (including National Geographic).

All donations must be brought into the Main Library, and placed on the cart at the 1st floor information desk. Donations are not accepted at the Grand Library. The Friends of the Library does not accept donations left outside the library or placed in the book return. Due to staffing and storage limitations, we ask you to donate no more than two small or medium sized boxes per visit.

We reserve the right to refuse gifts (monetary or material) upon which restrictions are placed. For information on donating special items, please call (650) 829-3860.

The South San Francisco Friends of the Library is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, charitable organization under sections 501(c)(3). Donations made to the South San Francisco Friends of the Library are tax deductible.

The Federal Tax Identification Number is 74-3116201.