WBUR - Radio Boston

Checking in on the guys checking out Massachusetts libraries

By Tiziana Dearing and Chris Citorik | March 13, 2022

“Before the pandemic, we talked with Adam Zand and Greg Peverill-Conti, co-founders of Library Land (as well as the PR agency Sharp Orange), about their quest to visit all of the 400+ libraries in Massachusetts. Today, we check in with them to get the latest update on their quest, and also to discuss how the pandemic has changed our relationship with our local library, and what the future may hold.”

You can listen to the full interview on Radio Boston.

Smart City Dive

12 predictions about the trends that will shape smart cities in 2022

By Cailin Crow | January 5, 2022

Adam is quoted in a roundup of predictions on the future of smart cities. You probably won’t be surprised to see that his focus is on public libraries!

"[In 2022,] public libraries should be the hub for rebuilding communities (and maybe a return to civic/civil discourse), workforce development, entrepreneurship, and positive social change and advancement. Libraries are the best place for free and open access for everyone to books, resources, programming, bridging the digital divide, raising knowledge, and fact-checking — library workers are better than the Internet for that."

You can read the full article at Smart Cities Dive.

WickedLocal.com - Chronicle Transcript

Hamilton-Wenham Library to celebrate 20th anniversary on Dec. 1

By Neil Zolot | November 22, 2021

We were invited to speak at the anniversary celebration. This was one of our early favorite libraries.

“The Library Land Project is a non-profit organization that promotes and traces the history of libraries and their communities that Peverill-Conti and Zand started based on an interest in libraries.”

You can read the full article at WickedLocal.com.

The Continuing Professional Development & Workplace Learning (CPDWL) blog of the International Federation of Library Associations & Institutions (IFLA)

An Interview with Greg Peverill-Conti, Co-Founder of the Library Land Project

By Ray Pun | August 2, 2021

Ray Pun reached out to learn more about the Library Land Project for the CPDWL blog. I am familiar with Ray through one of my courses at the University of Alabama and was super happy to discuss the project with him.

You can read the interview on the CPDWL blog.

Library Journal

Library Land Project Gets Nonprofit Status, Continues Mission During COVID Shutdown

By Lisa Peet | November 13, 2020

Library Journal covers many projects initiated within libraries, but occasionally a great idea is born of sheer fandom. The Library Land Project emerged from consultants Greg Peverill-Conti and Adam Zand’s love of libraries, and their goal to visit as many in their home state of Massachusetts as possible—and kept growing from there. On October 22, the project received its 501(c)(3) designation and formed a board of directors, which will allow it to keep exploring, documenting, and promoting public libraries, and to educate the public on the roles libraries play.

You can read the full story at Library Journal.

massachusetts municipal association

Library Land Project begins new chapter as nonprofit organization

By Massachusetts Municipal Association | October 26, 2020

The Library Land Project announced on Oct. 22 that it has received its 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS and formed a board of directors.

These two developments will help further the project’s mission to explore, document and promote public libraries in order to educate people about the important role these institutions play in our communities.

You can read the full story at the MMA website.

the boston business journal

five things you need to know today, and a love of libraries led us to this

By Doug Banks | October 22, 2020

You may recall my mentioning in this space back in April, when Zoom meetings were still novel, a labor of love known as the Library Land Project and its collection of 83 local and national library photos, which were first made available for download as Zoom backgrounds.

The photos were taken by PR practitioners Greg Peverill-Conti and Adam Zand, who co-founded the firm SharpOrange in late 2017. At the time, they would hold meetings at Newton Free Library. And during one of those meetings, on a lark, they decided to travel to all of the libraries in Massachusetts, reviewing them, ranking them, photographing them. (Greg became so enamored of libraries, he is now studying library science at University of Alabama.)

Now they’ve turned their passion project into a full-fledged 501(c)3 called Library Land Project Inc.

I got on a Zoom call with them yesterday — Peverill-Conti, to his credit, was using the image of the Central Cambridge Public Library as his background — to ask them why they would want to start a nonprofit at a time when so many nonprofits are struggling to raise funds, and why focus on public meeting spaces when no one can actually meet in public?

“Libraries are more important, more relevant than ever,” Peverill-Conti told me. “They're serving as resources for workforce development, serving as resources for educators.” 

He and Adam are hoping more people will appreciate libraries at a time when towns and cities are under more pressure than ever to fund them. “I think someone standing up for them is critical,” Peverill-Conti said.

The nonprofit’s board includes local lawyer and organizer Monique Byrne, PR practitioner Eric Davies, disability justice advocate Sandy Ho, and Debra Spratt, the director of the Pepperell Library in Central Mass.

“We’re on a quest,” Zand said. That quest includes visiting every library in Massachusetts. So far, they’ve been to more than 300, where they’ve found more than just bricks and books. They’ve found community centers helping address economic, health and racial injustices, and champions of facts and truth in an age of disinformation. Creating the nonprofit "opens us up to more opportunities, whether that's grants or working with states or partner organizations,” Zand said. “We're also looking at grants and foundation support."

Over the past three years, Peverill-Conti has become so enamored of libraries, he is now studying library science, online, at University of Alabama.

If you want to learn more about Library Land Project, you find them online as well as on Facebook, Instagram or GuideStar. 

Press Release

LIBRARY LAND PROJECT BEGINS NEW CHAPTER AS NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

By Library Land | October 22, 2020

BOSTON, Mass. - October 22, 2020 - Library Land Project, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has received its 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS and formed a board of directors. These two developments will help further Library Land’s mission to explore, document, and promote public libraries in order to educate people about the essential role these institutions play in our communities . . .

You can find the full press release here.

The Boston Globe

‘Libraries are about being together.’ So what do they do now?

By Tim Logan | August 10, 2020

That’s especially true in lower-income neighborhoods around Greater Boston, said Greg Peverill-Conti, co-author of the blog Library Land, which celebrates Massachusetts libraries. Many of those neighborhoods, he notes, have been hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic crisis it has sparked. People will need access to job training, social services and the many other functions libraries perform beyond simply checking out books.

“A lot of libraries are thinking about their civic role a little more, and how they might help people coming out of the pandemic,” he said. “They’ve always done that stuff, but will need to do it 10 times more at this point.”

You can read the full story at The Boston Globe.

WGBH - Morning edition

Boston Business Journal

Five things you need to know today

By Doug Banks | April 24, 2020

How to look smarter on Zoom calls

Because I'm a book-loving guy (our wedding favors and centerpieces were arranged with classic books), I loved the Brattle story, and I found compelling what PR practitioners Adam Zand and Greg Peverill-Conti are doing with Zoom backgrounds too: They're taking your video calls to the library.

These guys are big believers in the role libraries in the commonwealth can play in workforce development, career guidance and entrepreneurship (think of a free WeWork model). They have visited more than 280 libraries in Massachusetts and across the nation over the past two-and-a-half years. Their PR firm actually launched in a library, and they're now forming a nonprofit called the Library Land Project. From those travels, they now have a collection of local and national library photos you can download for use as a Zoom background — 83 images, in fact.

I definitely recommend you check them out. You'll feel smarter just scrolling through them.

Read the full story at the Boston Business Journal.

Circulating Ideas

Episode 174: Library land

By Steve Thomas | February 11, 2020

Steve chats with Adam Zand and Greg Peverill-Conti, the principals of SharpOrange PR agency and the creators of the Library Land project, about how libraries helped them build their business, why they decided to visit all of the libraries in Massachusetts, and how they’ve come to love libraries.

Hear the full episode at Circulating Ideas.

SMART CITIES DIVE

The library is a smart city's 'hub for digital intelligence'

By Cailin Crowe | January 27, 2020

When the founders of Library Land first decided to join forces, it was to start a PR agency — and they needed to find a good spot to meet. Instead of opting for a Starbucks or a WeWork, the two settled on a quiet study room at a library in Newton, MA. 

The duo, Adam Zand and Greg Peverill-Conti, tried their luck with a different library for their next meeting. Over 200 libraries later, the pair has leveraged the public spaces to launch the Library Land Project, a site that hosts reviews, maps and information regarding libraries around the U.S.

Read the full story at Smart City Dive.

Greenfield Recorder

Greenfield library rated by Library Land

By Melina Bourdeau | October 15, 2019

On a mission to get to every library in Massachusetts, Adam Zand and Greg Peverill-Conti of Library Land have rated the Greenfield Public Library.

As part of their Library Land Project launched in March, the two have visited and rated more than 230 libraries throughout the country, publishing their reviews and stories online at librarylandproject.com. After being requested to visit the Greenfield library by LibraryYES, the two took a tour and even marched in the Franklin County Fair Parade.

Read the full story at the Greenfield Recorder.

BUSINESSWEST

Library Land Project Catalogs The State’s Vast, Often Hidden Resources

By George O’Brien | October 1, 2019

In many respects, public libraries were the original co-working spaces, and they’ve always been a good place to get some work done. To bring attention to these sometimes hidden, unappreciated resources and actually rank the state’s 450 or so public libraries, two business partners have embarked on a unique endeavor they call the Library Land Project.

Read the full story at BusinessWest.

Fall River Reporter

As repairs begin, Fall River Library receives high mark in new review

By Fall River Reporter | September 12, 2019

Despite some of its current shortcomings, the Fall River Public Library received a high mark in a recent review.

Library Land Project, who has visited more than 200 libraries across the country, stopped by the Fall River library for an in-depth review at the end of August.

Read the full story at The Fall River Reporter.

POP UP ART SCHOOL

Library land interview

By Janell Scannell and Lisa Walker | September 10, 2019

Greg Peverill-Conti and Adam Zand, owners of the public relations firm SharpOrange, were seeking an affordable co-op working place, so they decided to meet at their local library. Little did they know their search for an inexpensive and comfortable place to work would become a passion project named Library Land.

Read the full story at Pop Up Art School.

Metrowest Daily News

Natick man part of large library-ranking project

By Zane Razzaq | August 20, 2019

“A lot of the time, we’re going to communities that we’ve heard of but don’t necessarily know a lot about. It’s a nice way to kind of learn about a community through how much they support their library,” said one founder of the Library Land Project.

Read the full story at the Metrowest Daily News.

Cape cod times

Project calls attention to changing role of libraries

By Jessica Hill | August 11, 2019

Some people review restaurants, some review movies. Two men have taken it upon themselves to review every library in Massachusetts.

Prompted in part by their own needs as remote workers, Adam Zand and Greg Peverill-Conti created the Library Land Project and have traveled to more than 200 libraries to rate them and bring awareness to the important role libraries play in communities.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times.

Library Journal - Editorial

Seeing Libraries Through Users’ Eyes

By Rebecca T. Miller | August 1, 2019

“When it comes to spreading library love, the Library Land Project raises the bar. Greg Peverill-Conti and Adam Zand have visited over 200 public libraries—celebrating them, sharing images of them, writing stories about them, and rating them. It's something to learn from.”

Read the full story on Library Journal.

WGBH - BOston Public Radio

Work Smart At The Boston Public Library With A Friday News Quiz

By Zoe Mathews | May 10, 2019

"Adam Zand and Greg Peverill-Conti joined Boston Public Radio at the WGBH Studio at the Boston Public Library, a fitting location for the two founders of the Library Land project, an effort to visit and rank every library in the state.

Zand and Peverill-Conti started the project because they often found themselves working out of them for their PR agency, and wanted to encourage more people to fall in love with the smart spaces as well.

They gave an overview of the Library Land project, were quizzed on the latest headlines, and had their global library knowledge put to the test.

Listen to the full BPR News Quiz.

Boston Magazine

These Guys Plan to Visit—and Rate—Every Library in Massachusetts

By Spencer Buell | April 24, 2019

They call it the Library Land Project. They're a third of the way there.

Last month, two MBTA super-fans officially set a world record for their trip to every stop on the transit network. Now, a pair of fanatics for a different public resource have set out on a quest of their own: They want to visit, and rank, every library in Massachusetts—all 483 of them.

Read the full story on Boston Magazine.

Boston Business Journal

Five things you need to know today, and it's spring. Have some tea

By Doug Banks | March 20, 2019

Happy spring: Read a book, have some tea

You may recall how much I like the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library, which I wrote about here. When my daughter and I went there, we stopped at the cafe before exploring the rest of the BPL and then heading home.

If you like cafes, or maps, you’ll love the newly decorated Map Room tea lounge, which opens its doors today in the McKim building for the first time since its renovation. In addition to afternoon tea, the lounge will now offer “author-inspired tea cocktails” and a la carte options, like artisanal cheese & charcuterie “and an inventive selection of tartines.”

The Boston Globe has a writeup of the opening in today’s paper that provides more details. A more formal grand opening is scheduled for May 21, once The Catered Affair at the Boston Public Library completes its work on the entire space, which includes a revamp of the main restaurant, The Courtyard Restaurant.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for the O.G. co-working space, libraries are the place to be. Just ask local PR firm SharpOrange, which launched not from a WeWork or Workbar space, but from the Newton Free Library. They claim to have worked in more than 100 libraries throughout Massachusetts just last year — and they’ve even gone so far as to rank them on a map.

And that brings us full circle: A map room in a library, where you can have tea, and a map of libraries where you can get work done and even bring your own tea. What could be better? Well, for starters, if you haven’t been to a library lately, the BPL would be a good place to start.