Media contact:
Beth Dempsey, 248.349.7810 or beth@bethdempsey.com
June 24, 2006 (EVANSTON, ILLINOIS) -- The Urban Libraries Council (ULC) has selected Cleveland as the site of its 2007 Partners for Successful Cities Conference. Cuyahoga County and Cleveland Public Libraries will co-host the event with the ULC, gathering government officials and urban librarians for two days of discussion about city issues and the role libraries can play in addressing them. The host city has the unique opportunity to showcase its libraries, cultural organizations and redevelopment projects for city and county administrators from across North America.
“The aim of this conference is to showcase libraries as community assets and Cleveland is an ideal setting for that,” said ULC President Martin Gomez. “It has two vibrant, forward-thinking library systems, and both city and county administrations that understand and value the role the libraries play in a metropolitan area rife with urban change and renewal.”
The 2007 conference theme is “The Changing Face of Metro Communities.” Conference speakers, including elected officials, library directors and experts in the field, will explore tools for responding to the rapid changes in urban and suburban migration patterns among traditional and new demographic groups. The conference will look at the pivotal role government agencies, community organizations and libraries play in assimilating new Americans, and in helping communities adapt to meet the need of changing new and traditional populations. The conference theme will look at changes happening across the metropolitan landscape in cities, suburbs and the urban fringe.
Partners for Successful Cities Conference is a biennial event, launched in 2001. It’s part of the ULC’s larger initiative to examine the emerging ways libraries contribute to the improvement of urban life. The conference is noted not only for its ability to convene a variety of urban activists, librarians, trustees, mayors and other city and county officials, but for the rich discussion and research it generates. Past host cities have included Boston and Chicago.
Conference co-hosts are eager to welcome public and library leaders to this event. “On behalf of all of Cleveland, we’re honored to serve as the site of this historic conference,” said Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson. “I cannot think of a better location in our nation to showcase the urban issues such as diverse neighborhoods, urban renewal, demographic change and cultural opportunities.” Cuyahoga County Commission President Jimmy Dimora stresses the new diversity in the older inner ring suburbs, noting that “Our libraries make a difference in providing services and resources as our metropolitan and suburban areas evolve into a regional force and work cooperatively on community initiatives.”
For more information about the Urban Libraries Council and its programs to define the library’s role in strengthening cities visit on the web at urbanlibraries.org.
For more than 30 years the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) has worked to strengthen public libraries as an essential part of urban life. A membership organization of North America’s premier public library systems and the corporations that serve them, the ULC serves as a forum for sharing best practices resulting from targeted research, education and forecasting. The ULC’s programs are acclaimed for inspiring new organizational models that invigorate urban libraries and enrich the areas surrounding them. The ULC is headquartered in Evanston, Illinois. For more information, visit the group on the Web at www.urbanlibraries.org.
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