Library Impact: Illustrated
Spokane Public Library
Innovation Synopsis
Libraries mean different things to different people. They can be places of inspiration, refuge, joy, growth, and discovery, often all at once. Who better to tell that story than artists who are passionate about bringing stories to life in fun, relatable, and creative ways? We partnered with four past, present, or upcoming Artists-in-Residence at The Hive® library and invited them to reflect on what libraries mean to the community, translating that impact into original works of art.
Each artist approached the prompt through their own lived experience and creative lens. The resulting pieces reflect the many ways the library impact people’s lives—sparking inspiration, offering space to grow, providing joy and refuge, and nurturing a love of reading.
Challenge/Opportunity
Spokane Public Library serves our community in many ways, but that impact can be difficult to capture through traditional messaging. We wanted to celebrate the impact of the library in the community in an inspirational and striking way and highlight the artists who have benefited from residencies at The Hive. We wanted these pieces to be head-turning - catching attention and sparking inspiration!
One of Spokane Public Library’s values is to “Showcase Spokane”, so partnering with local artists to create original artwork was a natural and fun way to celebrate the library. By partnering with local artists, we could showcase library impact in a way that is local and inspiring.
Key Elements of Innovation
We invited four past, present, or upcoming Artists-in-Residence at The Hive®—Hannah Charlton, Sarah Windisch, Genie Maples, and Katie Creyts—to create original artwork reflecting how the library impacts the community.
Each artist brought their own creative voice to the project, resulting in four distinct pieces. Together, they show the many ways people experience the library.
We transformed their pieces into a citywide campaign spanning bookmarks, stickers, posters, limited-edition library cards, staff shirts, and public merchandise. We partnered with five local breweries to distribute artist-designed coasters featuring QR codes linking to the artists and library. We were also able to purchase billboards for the first time ever, thanks to award winnings from the John Cotton Dana Award in 2024. Digital advertising on Meta and Spotify, organic social media, and features in publications Lilac City Local and The Spokesman-Review extended the campaign’s reach.
Achieved Outcomes
Success was measured through campaign reach, engagement, participation, and community response.
• Reach: 4.36M estimated impressions, including 3.2M from seven Spokane billboards, 772K Meta impressions, 140K Spotify impressions, and 206K email views.
• Engagement: Facebook engagement reached 7,700, exceeding 3,500 goal; Instagram reached 10,000, exceeding 5,600 goal. The campaign generated 2,422 email clicks, 1,699 blog views, and 2,136 YouTube Shorts views.
• Community response: 11 public social posts about the campaign exceeded the goal of five, including posts from participating artists and another library.
• Merchandise: 183 items sold, generating $1,270.59.
From seeing community-members “in the wild” wearing their artist-designed library merch to surprising drivers with a whimsical marmot on a billboard, this campaign highlighted the creative and lasting impact of the library in the community.
