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Cleveland library rocks interactive digital signage video wall

The Cleveland Digital Public Library has deployed Christie LCD flat panels and a Christie Interactivity Kit to transform how visitors learn about Cleveland, its history and its people, according to an announcement from digital signage solutions provider Christie.

August 18, 2015

The Cleveland Digital Public Library has deployed Christie  LCD flat panels and Christie Interactivity Kit to transform how visitors learn about Cleveland, its history and its people, according to an announcement from digital signage solutions provider Christie. The library wanted a better way to promote its digital collection, which was limited to online viewing through the Digital Gallery, and realized it could highlight its collections on an interactive video wall and bring the material to life, according to Christie.

The library opted for Christie high-definition LCD panels, installed in a four-by-one design, to provide a 36-square-foot digital canvas. Installed by AVI-SPL, the array changed the library's digital collection into dynamic and engaging content that is capturing the attention of visitors, Christie said.

"We wanted something already market tested, easy to install and maintain, and augment. It also had to be relatively easy to add content to and able to use in different applications," said Chatham Ewing, digital library strategist, Cleveland Public Library. "The Christie system gave us what we needed at a price point within our budget.

"A video wall in itself is not unique, but the additional facet of multitouch capability through the Interactivity Kit allows visitors to manipulate our collections in a new way, to play with them, to encounter the materials using a different set of senses beyond the visual," Ewing said. "The images are larger; the maps are much more dramatic and easier to see with the Christie flat panels. Visitors get a more 'real,' more memorable impression of what we're doing, and this makes it easier for people to discover Cleveland and its history."

The library also is looking forward to using many of the wall's capabilities for applications including geo-tagging and plotting walking tours through Cleveland's past and present, the announcement said.

"We have had classes come in, everything from kindergarten students to classes from the local vocational tech school who are learning about careers in technology and who are interested in how we do programming with the wall or how we track digital files," Ewing said.

"Christie digital display walls are highly customizable, and can be equipped with a wide range of tools that allow users to create, present and manipulate content in new and exciting ways," said Kathryn Cress, vice president, global and corporate marketing, Christie. "The Cleveland Digital Public Library is an excellent example of how visual display technology helps educational institutions reach a new generation of tech-savvy patrons."