The Dayton region is home to an abundance of quality arts. Yet many of our residents feel disconnected from those arts experiences due to economic, transportation, awareness and geographic barriers. Our patrons depend on their neighborhood branches to help shape their world and offer a destination for discovery, engagement, and connectivity. COTA leverages the Dayton Metro Library as a trusted neighborhood asset, partnering artists and arts organizations with our 20 Branch Libraries. Together, over the four-month timeframe, we offered educational, participatory and arts-focused programs to create community awareness and positive exposure. For many patrons this was their first exposure.

DML serves a varied population from urban to suburban to rural. COTA program topics are determined and scheduled by aligning Branch demographics with the outreach goals of each arts organizations. COTA demonstrates that DML Branches are more than bricks and books – they come alive with creative and educational programming. It allows the Library to tie back into its collection of books, A/V materials and digital downloads, while encouraging patrons to explore our community and expand their understanding of the arts, as well as their definition of the Library as a place to experience the arts. The program also encourages future Library/Arts collaborations.

In measuring our impact, we consider the outreach to under-served communities, the importance of reaching new audiences, and efforts in developing positive relationships between residents and artists who live/work in our community. Twenty seven arts organizations presented 120 programs, including movement, dance, art workshops, acting, improvisation, spoken word, visual thinking, music, singing, roping, costuming, and electronic production. As a result of this large-scale initiative to position the Library as the neighborhood destination for arts entertainment/information, more than 1,200 area residents experienced a personal interaction with the arts and artists in our community. Surveys/feedback offered very positive quantitative and qualitative results.