Our mission, vision and values

Our Mission

We give books to children!

We give new and nearly new books to children from birth to twelve years of age, to support literacy and foster a love of reading at home.

Our Vision

We create welcoming places and opportunities for children to have books of their own, for free, in order to improve their literacy skills, nurture their imaginations, and bring a love of reading to their homes.

Shared Values

• Child focused

We are dedicated to putting children first. We make sure that all of our services are child-led, including book selection and literacy activities.

• Equity

We believe that every child should have equal opportunities to be successful in life. We are accepting of everyone no matter their perspectives or life situations. We are mindful of the additional barriers to success that children from low-income households face. All children deserve to have quality, age-appropriate reading materials accessible to them no matter their situation. We select our community partners and our locations with the goal to improve equity of access to books among Ottawa families most in need.

• Diversity

We recognize the diversity gap in children’s publishing and strive to provide books that reflect our communities. We acknowledge that children feel valued and can imagine their own futures when they read about characters who look like them, or have a similar background in the books they read. Representation is important at all ages, and in all genres of books.

• Book ownership

Literacy is a clear indicator of success. We believe that choosing a book to keep develops a child’s personal choice, creates pride in book ownership, ensures accessibility of materials, and helps develop a love of reading. Having books available to read, reread, and enjoy in the home supports developing literacy skills. We acknowledge that families are more likely to read and reread books when they are continuously available in the home. Increased exposure to books improves early literacy skills, school readiness, and academic performance.

• Building relationships in and with the community

We believe in building and maintaining strong relationships with community organizations, volunteers, and donors who support our mission and share our values. Through these trusted relationships, we are able to serve children and families most in need, where they live.