The first in a new series of videos from the Libraries Transform public awareness and advocacy campaign highlighted the opening session of the 2016 Public Library Association (PLA) Conference in Denver today.
The video featured John Fuduric, owner of The Cleveland Brewery, who used the local library’s 3D printer to create custom keg tap handles, and helped demonstrate how libraries assist local entrepreneurs in unusual ways.
“Policy makers, community decision makers, and funders do not always recognize the expanded roles and capabilities of libraries nor recognize the extent to which libraries can be catalysts for opportunity and progress,” ALA President Sari Feldman said. “We must shift outdated perceptions of libraries. This is why I’ve been proud to launch the Libraries Transform public awareness campaign, and why Cuyahoga County Public Library supported the development of these videos.”
Each of the six videos of library users help tell the story of how today’s public library impacts the community and support education, employment, and entrepreneurship. PLA President-Elect Felton Thomas, Feldman, PLA, the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy, and the ALA Office for Library Advocacy developed the videos as tools that libraries can use in the public awareness campaign. The videos are available for download on the ALA YouTube channel.
