Tennessee: Kent Oliver, Director of Nashville Public Library “Envisions Library of the Future”

From The Tennessean (Includes Video):

“Ten years ago, libraries were all about books. They were often staid and quiet places where people came to find information, and not everybody was welcome,” said Nashville Public Library director Kent Oliver. He came to Nashville a year ago to lead our increasingly busy 21-branch system that now offers a staggering array of resources and programs.
“We are still about books, but now the library is much more accessible. The core of reading is certainly what we do, but there are a lot of manifestations of that,” Oliver said.
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One of the biggest and most positive changes in our Metro library’s model is the creative public and private partnering to ramp up programming and maximize resources. The Nashville Public Library Foundation has provided support, and other partnerships are popping up.
One example is the “Limitless Library” that is now in all Metro schools, where the students and teachers can see all of the Metro library’s holdings online and have books delivered to them.

Read the Complete Article, View Video
Note: The Limitless Library program was just won an Urban Library Council “Top Innovators” award.
See Also: Kent Oliver Named New Director of the Nashville Public Library (March 21, 2013)

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