The challenge addressed by this innovation is the community perception that libraries are not relevant in an information age. The opportunity claimed is explaining that the work of libraries is more than the circulation of materials and that the programs, services and place-making activities occurring in libraries are essential to a community’s quality of life and economic well-being. This innovation has also been an opportunity to demonstrate that public libraries do not deliver service in vacuums but instead as part of a broad network of organizations that support community vitality.

The key elements of this innovation included:

1. Recognizing a lack of awareness and increasing misinformation spreading through the community concerning the idea of a new library;
2. Taking action through creation of a video story showing and describing the service challenges created by the current library building;
3. Testing the video with community audiences; and
4. Using the positive feedback about the first video as a launching point for expanding the project into a series.

The first video was instrumental in explaining to the community the need for a new library. Through this engagement, the City Council was convinced to allow preliminary schematic and design development for a new library. The second video built upon our original success and our project’s alignment with work from the Aspen Institute to reframe the conversation from challenges to opportunities. The interviews in this video convinced elected officials to authorize completion of design and construction documents. An equally important outcome is the community response. As the films are used in community settings, the most frequently received question is no longer “Why do we need a new library?” but instead “What can we do to help make this happen for Wichita?”