For those who think that the Chicago Public Library exists only for the 85-year-old-and-over set, library officials want them to take a second look.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the library system wants to smash the stereotypical image that the library is nothing more than a place where older people congregate and read. On Monday, the CPL launched a new ad campaign from All Terrain/Chicago that attempts to convince young adults of post-college, pre-children age that their neighborhood library isn't only a repository for books and prim librarians.
CPL Commissioner Mary Dempsey said she wants to expand the user base even more by shaking off any remaining cobwebs, according to the paper. New print and transit ads show an elderly lady at a DJ's turntable and encourage younger demographics to "get your beats where granny gets hers."
The library, the article said, now includes a range of offerings including DVDs, CDs, live performances, free Wi-Fi and more. The latest statistics show book circulation in Chicago's public libraries is up 28 percent so far in 2008 vs. 2007. More than 1.1 million people now visit the city's libraries each month, according to the Sun-Times.
