Signing Up Key Players : Former NBA Star Helps Library Program Recruit Young Users
Mayor Richard Riordan and former Lakers star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar handed out library cards to a group of children Wednesday to mark the start of a campaign to increase the number of library cardholders.
The Library Foundation of Los Angeles hopes to publicize that a free library card gives people access at no cost to programs and materials offered by the Los Angeles Public Library at 68 locations citywide, said Barry Sanders, the foundation’s chairman.
More than 1 million people hold the cards, but the library hopes to get “everyone in Los Angeles to have a library card in their pocket. . . . In a way it’s the one thing all we Angelenos can have in common,” Sanders said.
The foundation will use public service announcements, billboards and special promotions to spur interest in library membership, he said.
Wednesday’s news conference announcing the campaign was also attended by City Librarian Susan Kent, City Councilwoman Rita Walters and representatives of several sponsoring organizations.
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