Bring any Eastside Market receipts to your PCL library & 1% of the total receipt will be donated to us.
General Information
OUR MISSION
Providence Community Library provides library services to Providence residents throughout the city through the operation and support of all nine neighborhood libraries. PCL manages Providence's community library system for the benefit of the entire community.
OVERVIEW OF OUR LIBRARY
Providence Community Library is composed of nine neighborhood libraries. Three of these are larger libraries serving an entire region of the city; these are Rochambeau Library on the East Side, Mt. Pleasant Library on the West Side, and Knight Memorial Library on the South Side. The six additional libraries serve their immediate neighborhoods; these are the libraries in Fox Point, Smith Hill, Washington Park, South Providence, Olneyville and Wanskuck. The individual libraries are linked into a comprehensive library system which is also a member of Ocean State Libraries network.
Providence Community Library will be governed by a board of up to 25-members. In order to ensure broad-based representation and accountability to both patrons and taxpayers some board members are elected by each library’s Friends groups, some will be appointed by the Mayor, the City Council, and the Governor, and some will be elected by the Board itself.
SERVICE POLICY
Providence Community Library serves, as its primary clientele, the people of the City of Providence, without regard for age, sex, religious or ethnic background, political affiliation, educational ability or economic status. As a member of the Ocean State Libraries (OSL), the Library further extends full access to its materials and services at no charge to the people of the state of Rhode Island, as well as to residents of other states who pay a yearly non-resident fee of $25.00.
The Providence Community Library’s resources are chosen for people of all ages and reading/learning abilities, and include books, newspapers and periodicals, audio books, audiocassettes, musical CD’s, video recordings, DVD’s, puzzles, toys, museum passes, and online databases.
The Library’s services for both children and adults include reader’s advisory, reference, and homework and referral assistance, either in-house, over the telephone, or via e-mail. In addition, the Library offers programming geared especially for children, young adults, adults and the elderly, organization and circulation of materials, interlibrary loan, and computers for Internet and word-processing and spreadsheet applications. The library webpage provides access to the on-line catalog, selected on-line databases, the schedule of library program offerings, and numerous links to recommended Internet resources.