Urban Libraries Council Honors the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District and RTC for Innovation

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Urban Libraries Council (ULC) has announced that the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District has received a Top Innovators Honorable Mention award for its program "Bringing the Library to Transit Riders," developed in partnership with the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC). The program provides local transit riders with free access to movies, ebooks, eaudiobooks, and magazines on 400 city buses, using on board WiFi.

The ULC's annual Innovations awards recognize transformative programs that address structural racism, bridge digital divides, provide lifelong education opportunities, meet the needs of under-resourced populations and improve essential library service delivery from ULC's member library systems across the U.S. and Canada. The ULC announced the award during the 2021 Innovations Celebration held virtually on Jan. 2.

"Our partnership with the RTC is just one example of how the Library District is collaborating with other public entities to create smart, new and unexpected ways to serve the public," said Kelvin Watson, executive director of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. "Bringing the library onboard the RTC's 400 citywide buses introduces new audiences to the library's educational, entertaining, and life-changing resources. Our goal is inspire them to explore our buildings and our website and enjoy a wonderful world of discovery."

The Library District's program enables transit riders to instantly sign up for library access via the Libby app and the RTC's free WiFi on any of its 400 city buses in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Riders can immediately begin borrowing ebooks, eaudiobooks, magazines, and movies at no cost. The service is also available to Las Vegas visitors who can receive temporary access via a seven-day pass.

 "We celebrate Las Vegas-Clark County Library District for developing a leading-edge program which will transform their library and community, serving as a model for all public libraries in North America," said Urban Libraries Council President and CEO Susan Benton.

About Las Vegas-Clark County Library District
The award-winning Las Vegas-Clark County Library District is an independent taxing entity that serves a diverse community across 8,000 square miles. Through its 25 branches and website, the Library District offers a collection of 3.2 million items consisting of books, movies, music (including streaming and downloadable), online resources, as well as free programs for all ages.

The Library District is a vibrant and vital member of the community offering limitless learning; business and career advancement; government and social services support; and best of all, a place where customers find a sense of culture and community. For more information, please visit LVCCLD.org.

About Urban Libraries Council
The Urban Libraries Council (ULC) is an innovation and impact tank of North America's leading public library systems. ULC drives cutting-edge research and strategic partnerships to elevate the power of libraries as essential, transformative institutions for the 21st century. More than 160 urban member libraries in the U.S. and Canada rely on ULC to identify significant challenges facing today's communities and provide new tools and techniques to help libraries achieve stronger outcomes in education, digital equity, workforce and economic development, and race and social equity.

SOURCE Las Vegas-Clark County Library District