It's not all fun and books

I had intended to write about event planning today, but Joanne has been out for much of the day over at the Hayti Heritage Center working to hammer out some technical difficulties for a humanities event taking place there next week. So I will come back to that topic later this week and instead talk about how the department functions, based on what I've seen so far.

I think that a lot of people (including, for awhile, myself) have this notion that public librarians sit around all day and read books. I also think that SILS tries hard to dispel this notion. One the very first day of INLS 501 last semester, Dr. Pomerantz told us "If you are here because you love books, run." (This was, in retrospect, quite funny because we had just finished going around the room and saying why we had decided to attend SILS. A good two-thirds of the replies were iterations of "Because I love books."

Having spent a little time in a public library setting, it's a little easier to see where he was coming from. The library, at least the marketing division, is more of a business than an idyllic place where everyone sits around reading books all day long. It's more akin to working at an office: we sit at desks and do plenty of dry, business-y tasks like grant writing, recordkeeping, and spreadsheet maintenance. Department meetings are not about books we've read but rather about how we can save some money on printing costs or meeting quotas. It's very apparent that visibility is essential to the library's survival, and the staff seems grateful for any publicity they receive, even if it's as small as a blurb cut from the local newspaper. (Gina carefully saves these for BoT meetings and they are subsequently archived.)

Reeling 'em in: who attends library events?

In my last post, I mentioned the wildly eclectic mix of events that DPL offers as part of its humanities series, ranging from the typical book signings to the really quite bizarre. Who attends these events?

My guess-which is entirely unfounded-is that many of the attendees would be older individuals. My paternal grandmother constantly attends events and lectures at her local library, and I rather imagine that many of her peers do the same. It's a great opportunity for them to socialize and to learn something new. I also suspect that it's the older demographic that would be the most interested in the local history events which the library offers up in droves, as they are the ones who probably remember those events actually occurring.

But what about the young demographic? I can't remember the last time I attended a library-sponsored event, which, given my program, is a little sad. If I, the sort of young adult who would be most likely to attend these events, am not going to them, then who, exactly, is? It's a bit of an awkward age group. The library has plenty of events for children and teenagers, and an equal number that might appeal to senior citizens, but not as much for the twenty-, thirty-somethings. We ran into this problem with my 23-year-old brother Michael, who is autistic. I contacted his local library to see if they offered events for someone of his age and capabilities, and the response was discouraging. It's definitely an overlooked demographic.

Of course, I could be entirely wrong. While working on the blurbs for the upcoming humanities brochure, I often find myself thinking of my peers and saying "Oh, I should tell so-and-so about this event; they'd think it was really interesting." Actually, I intend to ask Joanne or Gina if they can run me off some extra fliers for an August discussion panel on game design. I have an unusual number of friends who are interested in board game design and, having mentioned this event to them in passing, they all seemed quite excited and said that they would certainly attend. Perhaps my generation has a vested interest in library events as well. It's an encouraging thought, and it may have something to do with the area.

I'm not sure about other regions of the country, but I'd imagine that libraries in the Triangle have just about the best turn-out rate for their events. The area's major universities mean that the DPL has not only a host of potential speakers, but also a community of educated folks both young and old, eager to learn something new. I think that the marketing division is well aware of this and therefore tailors the list of events to appeal to the widest number of people. Where else could you find zombies, civil rights, and Islamic mystic poetry living side by side?

Next time: how does the library go about selecting their events?

Week One

I have a new mantra: No matter how smart you are or how educated you may be, the copy machine will always foil you in the end.

That's certainly been the case during my first week on the job. I copied a batch of library-related newspaper clippings only to have to do the whole thing over on account of the fact that the background was too inky. However, I finally achieved success and I think that the copier and I now have a mutual respect for one another. At least, I hope so. I have the feeling that it's plotting new ways to turn on me.

But waging war against the copier constitutes only a small part of what I've been up to. Over the course of my first couple of days in the marketing department I have:

• written numerous press releases for upcoming library events
• copy edited a list of blurbs that will be printed in the upcoming summer humanities brochure
• printed and stuffed envelopes to be mailed to Humanities Society members
• attended a department meeting
• visited the garage where the Bookmobile lives

I've spent most of these first couple days working under the supervision of Joanne Abel and Gina Rozier. Both are excellent to work with; Gina is perhaps a little intimidating, but I suppose that comes from serving as the department head. I will be spending most of the summer working alongside them, but they are open to me gaining some experience in parts of the library that are not necessarily directly related to marketing. After hearing that I am an ARM student, Joanne said that she will have to introduce me to Lynn over at the NC Collection, and I'm very much looking forward to that. Assuming that I do end up working in archives, I could more easily see myself working at a smaller, public library archive rather than at a massive university special collection, so I'm naturally interested to see what her job entails.

Meanwhile, the press releases take up a majority of my time. I must say, I am amazed at the sheer number/variety of events that the Durham Co. library offers. Most are understandably related to local history or feature local authors, but there are some that are so unusual, so out there. For instance, one of the branches is having a "zombie preparedness" event in early July. I think that is absolutely brilliant. Go to your local library, pick up a good book, and, while you're at it, learn to protect yourself during the impending zombie apocalypse! Awesome.

Next time: reflections on library-sponsored events. Who attends them, and why?