Celebrate ULC's Story

For 50 years, ULC has worked to strengthen and promote the value of public libraries. In the lead up to our 50th Celebration next month during ULC's Annual Forum, follow #ULC50 to explore our history and learn how far we’ve come to create who we are today!

During the Annual Forum, ULC members will gather to celebrate 50 years strengthening and promoting the value of public libraries. The Celebration is included with your Annual Forum registration and is sure to be a wonderful time. The dazzling gala bash will held at the newly renovated Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. 

Celebrate with national and local industry and government leaders as we honor our past and innovate our future! Stay tuned for more details about this momentous event.

We thank Baker & Taylor for their generous support of ULC's 50th Birthday Celebration!

Brian Bannon

New York Public Library

Brian Bannon is The New York Public Library’s first-ever Merryl and James Tisch Director. Bannon is the chief librarian responsible for directing NYPL’s 88 neighborhood branches, as well as the Library’s educational strategy. Most recently, Bannon was commissioner and chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Library, serving as chief library officer for one of the largest urban public library systems in the world.

Jonathan Capehart

The Washington Post, MSNBC and PBS

Jonathan Capehart is a Pulitzer Prize-winning Associate Editor of The Washington Post. Since 2007, he has been an opinion writer and member of The Post’s editorial board. At MSNBC, Capehart is the anchor of “The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart.” His MSNBC special “A Promised Land: A Conversation with Barack Obama” was nominated in 2021 for an Emmy for “Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis.” At PBS, Capehart serves as a political analyst on “The PBS Newshour” and is featured on the popular Friday segment “Brooks and Capehart.”

Karl Dean

Urban Libraries Council

Karl Dean served from 2007 to 2015 as the sixth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Karl first held public office when he was elected as Nashville’s Public Defender in 1990, a post he was reelected to in 1994 and 1998. He served as Metro Law Director from 1999 to January 2007, when he resigned to run for the office of mayor. Since leaving office in September 2015, Karl has taught at Belmont University and Boston University (2016). He is a graduate of Columbia University and Vanderbilt Law School.

Read ULC's Digital Equity Leadership Brief

ULC’s Digital Equity in the Age of COVID-19 Leadership Brief spotlights how the pandemic has both intensified the digital divide and created a window for action by raising the visibility of what it means to be unconnected in our hyper-connected world. Discover action strategies and key messages to empower library leaders to take on a more active and intentional role in advancing digital equity.

Learn More >

Read ULC's Digital Equity Blog Posts

• Library Meets Its Makers — As libraries work to bridge the digital divide, makerspaces continue to establish their important role in community spaces.
• Closing Equity Gaps with Community Partnerships: Key Resources from OCLC’s WebJunction — Explore how OCLC’s WebJunction implements a community collaboration strategy in addressing digital equity and inclusion initiatives, improving access to civil legal justice and health equity and crisis management planning.
• Inviting the Uninvited: An Unconventional Partnership Helps Bridge the Digital Divide — Through a new partnership, Las Vegas-Clark County Library District took steps to provide easy access for discovery, enjoyment and remote learning outside of the library walls and beyond the library website.