The 81 Club
The Chicago Public Library had an ambitious initiative to grant immediate library access to all Chicago Public School students. It took ten years to pass the legislature, and an incredible amount of work from the CPL team to make it all happen. It was an extreme privilege to put the wealth of digital and in-person resources into the hands of young students all over Chicago.
The Work
We wanted to channel the natural curiosity of these young students. We started by asking ourselves a question… “How many libraries are there anyway?” The answer? 81.
But we didn’t stop there. We asked students thought provoking questions that weren’t answerable by a simple Google search. Then we provided QR codes which led directly to digital resources that would begin to answer the question, setting these students on a path to a deeper understanding of the world around them.
