As young adults turn 18, they have a lot to navigate into adulthood: new responsibility, new contact information and the responsibility of voting. Tangentially, Oklahoma has struggled to engage young voters at the polls. PLS took the opportunity to combine these opportunities to increase active young adult cardholders and voter turnout.

Recognizing these challenges, PLS developed a series of automated yet personalized messages to reach out to recent 18 year-olds to wish them a happy birthday, remind them of their new adult account status and encourage connection, particularly through voter resources the library provides by directing them to register to vote, become an educated voter and view the library as a trusted resource.

Since implementing in the winter of 2022, this message series has a 40% open rate. Of those opening the message, teens most engaged in circulating digital and physical materials, placing holds and connecting to Wi-Fi. Raising the library’s visibility and awareness among this age group at such a pivotal time in their life has the potential to create goodwill and a lasting impression.