The Village Learning Place (VLP) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit neighborhood lending library, learning center, computer lab, and community garden in the Charles Village neighborhood of Baltimore City. The Village Learning Place serves as an anchoring institution, a symbol of community pride, and a partner in creating a healthy and cohesive community.
The old and the new together: 2521 and 2510 St. Paul Street
Our Mission
Our mission is to promote literacy, cultural awareness, and lifelong learning. Our vision is to be a leader and model in delivering high-quality library services and educational programs.
To that end, the VLP offers free resources, educational programming, and cultural events for toddlers, children, teens, adults, and seniors. We are committed to providing quality, targeted programs that help people achieve their personal potential and strengthen them intellectually, socially, economically, and culturally, and strengthen the community as a whole.
Our Core Principles
The Village Learning Place strives to integrate its core principles, commitment, compassion, honesty, and patience, into every level of its operations and throughout each program and service it offers.
Our Buildings
2521 St. Paul- The beautiful Victorian brick building in which the Village Learning Place is housed was one of the original six branches of Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library, designed by Enoch Pratt and built in 1896. It is now a physical embodiment of community endeavor and neighborhood pride.
When the Pratt Library closed its Charles Village branch in 1997, residents rallied, restored the building with volunteer hours, and created the VLP to fill the neighborhood’s need for accessible resources of all kinds. Since this grassroots inception, the VLP has directly responded to the needs and desires of its community, and its staff and board members are attuned to the changing requirements of its very diverse patrons. The original building at 2521 St. Paul Street houses the VLP Library and computer lab, and it serves as the location for much community programing.
2510 St. Paul- In an economic climate where many doors are closing, the Village Learning Place is excited to be opening new doors! In 2011, the VLP began its second decade of serving the friends and neighbors of the Charles Village community. Much growth happened in the VLP’s first ten years, and there was great need for additional space to meet the demands of constantly expanding programs and services.
The VLP is opening new doors on the second floor of 2510 St. Paul Street, directly across the street from its original 2521 St. Paul Street historic building; an opening is planned for September of 2011. The new space houses permanent classrooms for the Let’s Invest in Neighborhood Kids (LINK) after school and summer programs, community rental space, a reading resource room, and additional staff office space.
Our Recognitions
In 2007, the Village Learning Place was named as one of the nation’s select 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) through the Maryland State Department of Education. This competitive, three-year federal grant has allowed us to launch a community-wide initiative, called Let’s Invest in Neighborhood Kids (LINK).
In 2008, Charles Village was named one of the 10 Great Neighborhoods in America by the American Planning Association, which cited the neighborhood’s “strong and dedicated activist community, economic and social diversity, and memorable character” in its award. The VLP is proud to call Charles Village home and to partner with its neighbors in building and maintaining a strong community.
In 2010, the VLP’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant was renewed for three more years, a recognition of outstanding growth since 2007 and a vote of confidence in our future. With this support, we are able to expand our LINK program to serve preschool and high school students, providing “cradle to gown” programs for our kids.
Please click here to view the VLP’s FY2010 Annual Report.
Community activists demonstrate in support of their community library, 1997. Many of the same activists are VLP volunteers, supporters, and program participants today.