U.S. Senator Reed, CFPB, Rhode Island Libraries Partner in Historic Financial Literacy Initiative

Marking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s first-ever statewide collaboration, the CFPB joined U.S. Senator Jack Reed and Rhode Island librarians to unveil a new alliance aimed at enhancing financial literacy throughout the state. The initiative will be administered through public libraries in Rhode Island and will endeavor to expand access for consumers to financial education resources and support on topics such as budgeting, saving, managing debt, student loans and managing personal finances.

The partnership brings together leading forces behind the financial literacy movement, including the CFPB, which was established is the first U.S. federal agency charged exclusively with protecting consumers of financial products and services. Senator Reed co-founded bipartisan Senate Financial Literacy Caucus and serves as a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee.

Libraries have been a major focus of financial literacy professionals given their unique position in enabling individuals and families to access financial education materials. This partnership builds on a national pilot project launched in April with nine libraries across the country. In less than three months, that project grew to include over 50 library systems comprising almost 400 libraries. By adding Rhode Island’s public libraries to this initiative, 48 more libraries, including 70 branch locations, will join this effort. Importantly, that means that approximately one million more people will now have access to free resources, tools and trained librarians to help boost the consumers’ financial education.

The financial literacy industry continues to buzz about the speed at which library systems are driving financial literacy programs throughout the U.S. Major organizations are joining the crusade, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension System, and the American Library Association all working to strengthen and expand financial literacy programs and services.

While this trend of library support for financial literacy is strong and growing in the U.S., many other developed and developing countries also are witnessing libraries moving into a central position with the financial literacy growth strategies in those nations as well. This bodes very well for the continued success of financial literacy programs and services throughout the world in the months and years ahead.