Digipalooza ’25 Day 2: A keynote session with Jason Reynolds, libraries leading the way with AI & more

Catching up? Check out our Digipalooza Day 1 recap.

Digipalooza ’25 is in full swing, and Day 2 was loaded with energy, inspiration and a whole lot of library love! First, attendees fueled up for a day full of learning with a delightful, delicious breakfast, sponsored by Macmillan. From there, it was on to a series of enlightening sessions featuring points-of-view from librarians across the U.S.

(Plus – a keynote session with award-winning author Jason Reynolds that was absolutely not to be missed!)

The overarching theme of the day was connection – coming together, learning and sharing. During opening remarks, OverDrive founder and CEO Steve Potash acknowledged the real challenges and questions that libraries are currently facing – but emphasized that above all, OverDrive is prepared to stand side-by-side with our partners, equipping them with the tools and assistance to navigate hurdles as they come.

Check out all the highlights from the day below.

Expand Literacy Through Inclusive Library Programs

This 30-minute session was all about breaking barriers and building bridges to literacy through library-led community programs.

• Migell Acosta (Library Director, San Diego County Library – CA) shared takeaways from SDCL’s Little Free Libraries (LFLs)  initiative, where SDCL, in partnership with community groups (including The United Way of San Diego County, Feeding San Diego, Words Alive, The Children’s Initiative and many, many more), built and stocked over 100 LFLs strategically located across five regions, with a goal of increasing equity of access to literacy in underserved communities.
  • “It matters what the community thinks”: Acosta noted that though LFLs have some perceived drawbacks, the community at large views them positively, as equitable access points that are part of a “continuum” of literacy experiences.
• Then, Lauren Boeke (Assistant Youth Services Coordinator, Toledo Lucas County Public Library) dove deep into TLCPL’s Ready to Read program (based on the joint Public Library Association and and Association for Library Service to Children initiative Every Child Ready to Read), which leans into the science of reading to build foundational reading skills in kids up to grade 3.
  • As science of reading becomes more integral to schools’ curricular adoptions, Boeke wanted the public library’s resources to reflect and complement how students in her community were learning.
  • Through a combination of internal trainings and community programs (plus an assist from decodables books in the Libby app!), the program has managed to reach more than 30,000 adults and 25,000+ children across the community – and that number climbs every month.

Maximizing Digital Resources: Delight Patrons & Keep Your Library Thriving

For 40 minutes, three savvy librarians – Amy Richard (Library Collections Manager, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library – NC), Olivia Hedlund (Collection Development Supervisor, Anoka County Library), and Jennifer Fleck (Selection Librarian – Digital, King County Library System) – shared their best tips, tricks and experiments for making the most of OverDrive tools and lending models. Whether you’re selecting for a standalone collection or curating your own Advantage collection in partnership with a consortium, there are ideas here for everyone!

• 💸 Cost Per Circ (CPC): Richard loved CPC for seasonal promotions like summer reading and Thanksgiving, plus experimenting with new languages, while Fleck asserted that CPC is a great tool to test demand. (Her favorite use case so far has been to turn it on over weekends for select high-hold titles to reduce holds lists.)
  • All agreed that CPC was great for rewarding patrons with the instant gratification they often ask for, allowing them to address the needs of their reading communities quickly.
• 📰 Subscriptions:
  • For Richard, magazines in particular have been “a no-brainer” to keep renewing (circulations are up 22% in 2025!)
  • Hedlund noted the bang for your buck that subscriptions offer, particularly at the consortia level.
  • Fleck called out the magazines, All Access Romance, Lonely Planet and Duke Classics collections in particular – with a special nod to the Pride & Prejudice audiobook, which is consistently in their top circulating titles!
• 🔔 Notify Me tags: Richard uses Notify Me to help gauge how many copies of a title to start with, while Fleck’s strategy includes shopping sales strategically and using tags to help prioritize purchases.
• ☘️Holds management with Lucky Day: For Hedlund, Lucky Day has been a great feature for circulating books that are just past their peak popularity, plus drawing down Metered Access titles on the verge of expiring.
• 🌟 KEY TAKEAWAYS
  • Richard believes meeting regularly with your OverDrive Account team is key. “They’re a knowledge bank—tap into it!”
  • Hedlund advises librarians to “Try the new thing!” Currently, Anoka has the shortest average wait time in her system, in no small part due to her willingness to try new tools and strategies – so much so that others are asking how she manages it!
  • Fleck’s recommendation: “Don’t be afraid to experiment.” Create a small budget for test initiatives, track successes, and get creative with how you’re using tools!

AI in Action: Shaping the Future of Libraries 

In a world overflowing with information and automation, how can libraries play a role in helping patrons effectively and safely leverage new technologies – even as they evolve at a blistering pace?

In this session, thought leaders like bestselling author Seth Godin and library innovators like Chris Markman (Library Services Manager, Palo Alto City Library – CA) and Justin Bumbico (Information Technology Officer, Columbus Metropolitan Library – OH) tackled this big question – with a little help from Reid AI, an experimental digital twin of Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, Inflection AI, and Manas AI.

Here are some highlights:

• According to Reid AI, large language models are best equipped to enhance basic functions (like tagging), performing them quickly and at-scale, freeing librarians to focus on mentoring, discovery, and building community.
• However, Godin noted that ethical guardrails are critical, for both AI systems AND the human systems that give them “life”. (As Reid AI put it – “AI isn’t the brakes, it’s the steering wheel.”)
• Markman shared some key lessons he learned on the frontlines experimenting with AI at the Palo Alto City Library, including:
  • Storytelling with generative AI requires practice, just like any other skill. Technique matters!
  • When it comes to sensitive data sets, humans still rule over the cloud.
  • “Grand designs demand great data.” Data quality matters, now more than ever. AI tools are only as good as an organization’s records management and governance.
• Bumbico, who leads the AI Task Force at Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML), shared their multi-pronged approach to building AI awareness and literacy, establishing a practical AI toolbox and developing guidelines and structure for safe use.
  • Internal trainings and public programs have played a key role in CML’s cross-departmental strategy, as have strong foundational policies around AI.
• Both Markman and Bumbico agreed that “build now, iterate as you go” should be the new default approach. If you wait to achieve perfection, you’ll be too late.

Between the Lines: A Live Conversation with Jason Reynolds

• His journey from a late reader to one of the most influential voices in contemporary literature, starting with the moment (at age 17) that his attention was finally grabbed and held (see: page two of the book Black Boy, by Richard Wright). Ultimately, this experience shaped his belief that stories should be gripping from the start.
• The balance of dark and light in his work, with emphasis on the question – is a topic really heavy, or is it just life?
• His creative ethos, which is to use storytelling as a means to make readers feel seen and cared for, and “walk away feeling like they just had the biggest hug, even though it may have been a bumpy ride.”
• His philosophy on overcoming writer’s block by adding either a new character to the story or a new characteristic to the protagonist. (“It’s either character or characteristic.”)
• His admiration for Japanese literature – “What the Japanese understand is brevity. They know how to make a really good story really short” – including a shout-out to The Swimmers author Julie Otsuka.
• The transformative personal impact of his novel Ghost, which helped catapult him to fame after it was featured as part of PBS’ The Great American Read program.
• The evolution of his new work Soundtrack, which sat for years before being reimagined as an immersive audio experience with original music composed by Grammy Award-winning musician Justin Ellington.
• His belief that storytelling is ultimately about connection: “The human parts of us will always connect first… using the book as the meeting ground.”

Bridging Digital & Physical Collections: Creative Strategies That Drive Engagement

Libraries are finding fresh ways to connect digital users with physical spaces—and this session, led by Krista Meier (Selection Librarian/OverDrive Administrator, Pikes Peak Library District – CO) and Erika Jenns (Assistant Director–Director of Librarianship, Southern Tier Library System – NY), delivered a compelling toolkit of replicable ideas to help boost foot traffic and deepen patron engagement.

• Foot traffic matters: Per IMLS data, library visits have steadily declined since 2010. Strategic in-person programming is now more important than ever, because it reminds communities of the power of presence and the essential role libraries play.
• Meier leveraged Libby’s Call-To-Action Campaign tool to promote their Winter Adult Reading program, resulting in record-breaking success:
  •   5,781 participants
  • A 17% increase in completions
• Hundreds of miles away on the East Coast, Jenns launched the STARQuest program, which turned library visits into a galactic adventure, with a goal of reaching 10% of their registered cardholders.
  • Each library became a “planet” in a system-wide tour, complete with stickers and milestone prizes.
  • The campaign resulted in over 6,000 visits, including 69 patrons who made it to all 48 libraries!

Closing thoughts: “Librarians, you are our heroes.”

In one of the day’s final public addresses, representatives from Macmillan capped things off with the core belief of Digipalooza: “Librarians, you are our heroes.”

After all of the innovations and insights shared across hours of programming, it’s clear that that’s true now more than ever.

Bonus: Rock ‘n Read: A Legendary Night of Music & Books

With sessions wrapped for the day, what came next for Team OverDrive + a few hundred of their closest librarian and publisher friends?

While you might think the answer is “go take a nap” (tempting, but no) – it was actually “go party”! At a reception sponsored by Blackstone Publishing and hosted at Cleveland’s own Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Digipalooza ’25 attendees celebrated the freedom to read and rock with an evening of food, fun, shush-free live music and dance – the perfect way to let loose after a long day of learning.

Looking ahead to Digipalooza ’25 Day 3

It’s hard to believe, but tomorrow is the final day of Digipalooza ’25. However, there are still plenty of sessions to look forward to, including a closing keynote from Julia Whelan (one of the most recognizable voices in audiobooks!) and Steve Potash’s Vision Forward update. We can’t wait to see you there!

Read our Digipalooza Day 3 recap