FOPLA had another successful year in 2018, increasing sales of donated used books by $55,140 over 2017. At the nominal prices charged for most books, it is a significant achievement for which our volunteers should all be proud. At $375,000, our donation to the Ottawa Public Library exceeded 2017 by $15,000 and was our largest single donation to OPL to date.

Operating revenues were $497,749 which was 13% greater than 2017 and 20% greater than budget. At $394,670 net income after operating expenses and before distributions was 20% greater than 2017 and 40% greater than budget.

The FOPLA Investment Fund Committee had another productive year, and oversaw with the expertise of its volunteers the final transition of the Investment Fund to investment management firm Doherty & Associates Investment Council.

In 2018, the Fund produced approximately $17,874 in income from interest, dividends and other sources. The market value of the Fund decreased by $27,695 to end the year at $541,046, a decrease of -4.8%.

FOPLA was a key supporter of OPL’s Tales and Tunes family fun day, now a popular summer staple at Nepean Centerpointe. The event featured family-friendly activities and entertainment sponsored by FOPLA, including headliner Fred Penner, and welcomed over 4000 community members.

FOPLA also formed a new partnership with the Ottawa Farmers’ Market at Lansdowne Park to hold a spring book drive, which saw community members donate over 50 bins of books, DVDs, and more.

We also promoted FOPLA’s first Sci-Fi & Sundry Sale at the James Bartleman Centre, which was a huge success and had a very positive response from our customers.

The communications team also increased FOPLA’s social media following significantly in 2018 with growth of 79% on Facebook, 11% on Twitter, and 109% on Instagram.

FOPLA could not be successful without the hard work and dedication of its volunteers, and we are grateful for their efforts. We would like to acknowledge the following volunteers for their milestone years of service: