A vast majority of Americans—85 percent, according to the Pew Research Center—want their libraries to work more closely with local schools. Strengthening the link between public and school libraries is challenging, yet necessary for the well-being of our communities.

Using our digital lending platform, Axis 360, Baker & Taylor revolutionized a way to achieve closer relationships between school and public libraries: the Community Share program. Baker & Taylor’s Community Share program creates a connection between a public library’s ebook collection and their local system, allowing schools to access ebooks and digital materials from the public library’s digital collection. The result is a deeper connection between public and school libraries that allows them to share material, improve circulation and enrich their community in the process.

During a Library Journal webinar on June 6, Baker & Taylor and our customers had the opportunity to talk about the Community Share program at length. Michael Bills, director of sales and marketing for Axis 360, represented Baker & Taylor in the hour-long conversation along with librarians from San Jose Public Library, Indianapolis Public Library and Johnson County, KS Library to share their success stories. Matt Enis, the senior editor of technology at Library Journal, moderated.

Throughout the session, we shared how opening a public library’s digital media library for direct access by area students at school optimizes the library’s investment in digital content and benefits the entire community.

Sharing digital resources across the community has demonstrable impact and is a progressive step toward meeting this goal. So join in–sharing is caring.

View the Webinar here.