COLUMBUS METROPOLITAN LIBRARY | OH

LAUREN HAGAN | CEO

The commitment from Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) to building strong community and government partnerships starts by putting faces to names. By hosting events such as “Breakfast at the Branch,” where patrons can gather to meet with elected officials and other community leaders, the library makes civic engagement accessible to all. CML also hosts a Statehouse Legislative Delegation Breakfast once every other year, with the goal of welcoming newly elected and reelected members of the Ohio House and Senate. Political figures are regulars at the library, doing everything from holding office hours to reading at story time. Events like these ensure that libraries remain at the forefront of elected officials’ minds and put patrons in touch with their politicians.

CML makes sure art and culture are accessible as well, through partnerships with organizations ranging from museums to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Additionally, they offer a “Culture Pass” program that circulates passes to 18 institutions, including zoos, aquariums, sporting venues, and museums.

Imaginative collaborations with other organizations ensure a range of learning and literacy for all. The library partners with banks and colleges to assist with job-hunting and continuing education. Working with the Children’s Hunger Alliance guarantees that students receive lunch during summer months, as well as nutritious snacks at 16 locations year-round. Partnerships with Goodwill, Ohio State University, and Columbus Public Health connect the community with life skills resources. In 2023, CML partnered with the Franklin County Digital Equity Coalition to create a Digital Skills Hub that offers resources and classes aimed at solving the digital inclusion needs of underserved populations. As of August 2025, over 500 people had graduated from the program. Outreach to populations such as teens who need social-emotional support and elementary students with reading difficulties has cemented the community’s sense of the library as an important and compassionate local asset.

The dedication to these efforts is tangible. When funding was under threat in 2025, CML put together a postcard campaign, encouraging patrons to let state legislators know how important the library was to them. Over 5,000 postcards were sent and social media posts about the campaign reached over one million viewers.

“Columbus Metropolitan Library takes seriously our role at the center of the communities we serve,” says CEO Lauren Hagan. “Through strong partnerships with our cities, Franklin County, schools, and nonprofit organizations, we support literacy, learning, and opportunity at every stage of life. Our community can count on the library as a trusted place for connection, learning, and opportunity.”—Mary Daniels

Photos courtesy of Columbus Metropolitan Library

UNION COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM | SC

TAYLOR ATKINSON | Executive Director

Union County Library System (UCLS) is a living example of adaptability, resilience, and creative ways to maximize service in a resource-challenged area. Located in a small, rural county of South Carolina where roughly 17 percent of households lack internet access, and one in four residents does not own a computer, UCLS provides critical resources for connection and more.

When renovations began on UCLS’s historic Carnegie building, construction proved to be perilous—icy weather, plumbing issues, and flooding meant the entire collection had to be temporarily held in a warehouse. However, UCLS staff were unwilling to put service on hold for nine months. Instead, they utilized three city hall locations in the county as micro-branches to continue uninterrupted library service and partnered with the nearby University of South Carolina to work side-by-side with the academic library. Today, those town hall micro-branches remain a cornerstone of UCLS service delivery. In September 2018, the Carnegie location reopened as a hybrid public and academic library—to date, the only one of its kind in South Carolina. Director Taylor Atkinson says, “As South Carolina’s only hybrid public and academic library, we’re able to combine learning, social services, and community support in ways that truly meet our residents where they are.”

A partnership with Union County Emergency Relief proved to be fortuitous following Hurricane Helene in 2024. In the months following the hurricane, FEMA set up a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) at the Carnegie location, helping hundreds of people apply for and receive lifesaving aid. FEMA later praised the facility as “one of the most effective and welcoming DRCs in the state.” In an under-resourced county, the message could not be clearer: the library is a trusted and invaluable place in times of need.

UCLS has showed up for its community in many other ways as well: installing internet access in municipal buildings, securing funding to start a Mobile Learning Lab, housing over a dozen State and nonprofit organizations within the library, operating the Union Cancer Services nonprofit from within the main branch, and working with the county during the 2020 census to ensure that marginalized communities that often go uncounted were recorded. The efforts of library staff have not gone unnoticed. In 2024, over 30,000 visits to UCLS locations were recorded—more than the entire population of the county!

According to Atkinson, “We’ve realized that literacy and traditional library services are only part of our story—people also come to us when they’re experiencing hunger, homelessness, or just need help navigating life. In a rural county with limited resources, we’re proud to be a library that leads with compassion and collaboration.” —Mary Daniels

Photos by Amanda Upton Photography