The librarians at Cleveland Public Library (CPL) love books. No surprises there. Still, there's nothing wrong with spreading love of the printed word, and that's exactly what CPL is trying to do with its new outreach program, Read in the CLE.

The program, which launched last month on CPL's website, features a well-known Clevelander who is sharing the book that he or she is currently reading. A selection of CPL librarians also impart whatever page-turner has them staying up past bedtime, with the goal of giving visitors ideas on a new book to read.

"The focus is to pull people in so they can talk about reading together," says Amy Pawlowski, CPL's web applications manager.

As CPL does not have the user base of other local library systems, Read in the CLE was created to enhance interaction and keep the city's public library top mind. Visitors to the site can leave comments discussing their favorite books with either that month's featured reader or CPL's literate librarians.

"These aren't book reviews," Pawlowski says. "It's very loose and free-flowing. More along the lines of 'This is what I'm reading, do I like it?'"

CPL's first featured reader was columnist Connie Schultz. This month's guest is blogger and restaurant-owner Amelia Sawyer. The program will have a rotating series of notable Cleveland readers on hand for the rest of the year.

"We have some great readers downtown, but people always don't have time to get to the library," says Pawlowski. "This (program) is just a way for them to get more involved when they have the time."

SOURCE: Amy Pawlowski
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth