Contest Results Announced as Part of Unprecedented Marketing Campaign to Reintroduce Communities to Local Libraries

SAN FRANCISCO – Bay Area libraries today announced the results from their Free2 contest, which asked residents what they are free to do — or be — thanks to their library. The contest was one of the first engagement activities related to Free2, an unprecedented marketing campaign reintroducing communities to their local libraries.

Taking its cue from “Got Milk?” and similar industry image-raising efforts, Free2 (www.WeAreFree2.org) is designed to raise awareness of the central role libraries play in people’s lives and how libraries are meeting increased demand for services, from Internet access and video games to health care information and dance classes.

The multi-month campaign was launched on April 13, 2008, and involves interactive and traditional advertising, sponsored initiatives, special events and promotional activities at 165 library locations in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The first such activity was the Free2Contest, which invited entrants to describe, in 25 words or less, what they are “Free2” to or be because of libraries.

Ten winners were randomly selected from more than 300 entries, and the prizes include a FLIP® Ultra Video camera, an iPod® Shuffle, and the opportunity to appear in future campaign marketing. Winning submissions include:

• Roslyn Head-Lyons, Oakland Main Library: “Free2 think beyond the confines of my race, looks and income to continue to strive to be the best I can be.”


• Viktor Karanovich Beall, Martin Luther King Library: “Free2 look afar beyond the sea. I am free to have the knowledge that is key. I am free to be me.”


• Niko Plakakis, Martin Luther King Library: “Free2 inspire students in becoming what their greatest fears told them not to.”


• Mike McInerney, Serramonte, Westlake and San Bruno Branches: “Free2 think, read, listen and learn. Free to say what I want and free to write what I feel.”


• Laurie Darroch-Meekis, Oakley Library: “Free2 reach beyond myself, into a vision of the world and all its magnitude, gathered and presented at my local library.”


• Poornima Meenakshisundaram, Newark Library: “Free2begreen (save energy and trees, learn about Earth-friendly choices.) With two kids engaged with their books, I am free2beme and free2befree!!!”


• Dale Wolfe, Palo Alto Main Library: “Free2 define, design and develop new languages, theories, methodologies, personal technologies and personal traditions, unencumbered by irrelevant exogenous cultural and institutional influences. Online libraries can help.”


• Tara Bates, San Francisco Main Library: “Free2 research school papers, learn how to care for my wilting houseplant, improve my Spanish and peruse the huge multilingual children’s section under the guise of checking out books for my seven-year-old nephew — all in one afternoon.”


• Arabela S. Virata, North Beach Branch: Free2 EDUCATE MY MIND and LIVE GREEN at the same time! By borrowing books, I help in the conservation of Earth’s resources.


• Sarit Elata, Palo Alto Main Library: Free2 read all the great books I’ve been craving to read and have alternative life experiences and unexpected learning while sitting at my favorite armchair.

Several local notables also made submissions as a way to show their support for the campaign, including:

• Author Dave Eggers (Free2evolve);
• Humorist and playwright Josh Kornbluth (free2procrastinate);
• Assemblyman Mark Leno (free2live freely);
• Craiglist founder Craig Newmark (free2make things better for everyone);
• Author and journalist Michael Pollan (free2investigate);
• Author Mary Roach (free2time travel);
• Former San Francisco Chronicle columnist Joan Ryan (free2explore);
• David Talbot, founder of Salon.com and author of Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years (free2wander);
• Author Ayelet Waldman (free2escape); and
• California Senator and Assistant President pro Tempore Leland Yee (free2make history).

“The Free2 Contest underscores how libraries mean so many different things to people and the impact they have on their lives,” said Luis Herrera, City Librarian in San Francisco. “But ultimately libraries represent the same thing: freedom, whether that be a freedom to learn, imagine, connect, create or relax. The Free2 contest and campaign have begun an important conversation about what libraries are today — and how they can continue to grow, improve and help meet our communities’ needs.”

The Free2 campaign is the first of its kind for a library system in California, with thousands of ads, fliers, posters and stickers appearing across the Bay Area, from Oakland and San Francisco to Pleasanton and Livermore down to Saratoga. It is spearheaded by the Bay Area Library and Information System (BALIS), Silicon Valley Library System and Peninsula Library System, representing 165 locations in the Bay Area. Upcoming activities, events and special features will be highlighted on the campaign’s Web site: www.WeAreFree2.org.