Our History
The Friends of Chapel Hill Public Library was initiated in the 1950’s with a group of individuals who supported the establishment of a library in Chapel Hill. The group was formalized after the Library opened in a cottage on Franklin Street in 1958. The Friends of Chapel Hill Public Library's constitution and by-laws were ratified in May of 1961, by which time the Library had expanded and moved to a new building at the corner of Franklin and Boundary streets. The Friends’ first book sale occurred in 1971. In 1994 the Library moved into its current location in Pritchard Park, temporarily relocating to University Place during renovation. The Friends Book Store opened in 2013, when the Library moved back into the expanded Pritchard Park facility.  The physical store was converted to an online bookstore when the Library was closed because of the pandemic in 2020.

Organization
The Friends is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) membership organization governed by an elected board and operated through committees. In addition to sorting book donations each week and organizing three annual book sales, volunteers stock and process orders for the Friends Online Book Store and organize events that raise the Friends' visibility and increase membership.