"The challenge of opportunity youth is not just about crime, however; it’s about the future and how bleak it becomes for someone when they lack work experience coupled with low educational attainment. That is what our library system, Memphis Public Libraries, had to consider when thinking about ways to address the opportunity youth numbers in the city."

All young people deserve the opportunity to thrive. This includes those who, through little to no fault of their own, have become disconnected from school or work or who are at risk of so becoming. When opportunity youth are reconnected with school and/or work, their involvement in the criminal legal system lessens, health outcomes improve, and their earning potential increases.

At ULC, one of our top strategic priorities is to Support the Urban Library Leader—and that means equipping you with robust professional development opportunities, advocacy tools, and peer-to-peer networks that drive measurable impact.

Now, more than ever, our collective leadership must rise to meet these challenges head-on. ULC remains unwavering in our commitment to support you, advocate for the value of libraries, and provide the tools and networks needed to navigate these turbulent times.

On November 6-8, 2024, 11 leaders from public libraries across North America convened in Washington, D.C., for the 2024 convening of ULC’s Creating Youth Opportunities (CYO) initiative. With a dynamic mix of presentations, panels, and discussions, the convening showcased innovative strategies to improve outcomes for opportunity youth—young people disengaged from both work and school and navigating systemic barriers to education and employment.

This summer, the Urban Libraries Council asked its 187 member libraries across the U.S. and Canada to participate in the second-annual Library Insights Survey (LIS), compiling 2023 data to build on pre-pandemic trends tracked from 2019-2022. Today, we proudly release the 2024 Library Insights Report.

Together with Google Kids and Families, ULC is proud to introduce parents and caregivers to fun educational apps that help children ages 12 and under to be safe, promote literacy and learning and provide rich entertainment for families to interact with each other. Digital play is prevalent, and having a safe and nurturing environment is critical for the well-being of our children.

Each year, the Urban Libraries Council proudly gathers public library leaders from across North America to explore emerging challenges and opportunities facing libraries. This past October, more than 240 library leaders gathered in Philadelphia, PA for the 2024 ULC Annual Leadership Forum, themed Trust, Transformation, and Tomorrow.

The Urban Libraries Council's (ULC) Virtual Summit: Empowering Libraries to Strengthen Civic Health and Democracy, held on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, brought together leaders and innovators from the public library sector to examine the essential role libraries play in fostering civic health and strengthening democracy. Throughout the two-hour virtual summit, our panelists explored how libraries lead efforts to counter misinformation and disinformation, promote race equity, and foster socioeconomic mixing. Read on for a recap of the Virtual Summit sessions and access recordings of the discussions.

At the heart of our communities, public libraries are breaking new ground every day. The Urban Libraries Council (ULC) is proud to showcase these changemakers through our Innovations Initiative, which has amplified transformative projects from our member libraries for 15 years. This year, we are proud that more than 100 ULC member libraries shared nearly 240 innovative ideas to be considered for award recognition.