Free Music – Right Here, Right Now
Broward County Library, Fla.
Innovation Synopsis
In 2017, in an effort to expand access to library services and develop governmental collaborations, Broward County Library partnered with Broward Transit and Parks to offer bus riders and park visitors Free Music – Right Here, Right Now, which provides access to the library’s free downloadable and streaming music.
Challenge/Opportunity
Today’s public libraries are content providers that offer myriad options for entertainment consumers that are comparable to in-demand, for-pay services. BCL strives to exceed customer expectations by offering content when and where they want it. To achieve this, BCL collaborated to bring free streaming and downloadable music to riders of Broward County Transit buses and visitors to two Broward County Parks via the Free Music – Right Here, Right Now program.
Key Elements of Innovation
BCL currently offers free access to streaming and downloadable music and music videos to anyone with a Broward County Library card via Freegal Music, which can be accessed on BCL’s webpage or via mobile app. One of BCL’s 2017 missions was to “invite the uninvited,” i.e., reach out and provide services to members of the community that were not regular BCL users or were not aware of the wide range of services the library provides.
Achieved Outcomes
The objective of Free Music – Right Here, Right Now was to offer library resources/services – in this case, free downloadable/streaming music – out in the community in unexpected and unconventional places such as on buses and in parks. While the program is still very new, there has been an average nine percent increase in the number of musical downloads since its launch. Additionally, it received a 2018 National Association of Counties Achievement Award.
