An Open Letter to YA Librarians
Dear Librarians,
What kind of programming are you looking for from authors these days?*
And secondarily, nerdfighters, how do you envision the perfect John and Hank (and others?) event?
Best wishes,
John
* I ask not because I'm trying to figure out how, in the future, we want to tour. Like, example:
The traditional author visit to a library involves the author coming and speaking to a teen advisory group and other teens/adults who may be interested. These events generally involve a podium, and the author talks about his/her life/work/inspiration/how books change lives/etc. (This sounds dismissive, but I don't mean for it to. I love such events, and I often attend them.)
The nerdfighter tour events Hank and I did last year were very different: There were a lot of kids, and they often came from very far away, and they generally already knew quite a bit about us, and there were songs and dancing in addition to reading and question/answers. This had advantages--lots of enthusiasm about books and libraries, for instance--but also its disadvantages. (Some facets of nerdfighting are inherently inside-jokey, like for instance the word "nerdfighting.")
Here's what we're trying to figure out: If the dollar-to-attendee ratio were amazingly good, would libraries be interested in even bigger events that more thoroughly mixed the worlds of books and music? At what point does it cease to be a library event and become just a concert? Or can a concert of nerdy music emceed by an author be a library event?
posted by John Green @ Wednesday, April 22, 2009
61 Comments
61 Comments:
IMHO, adding extra layers to a "literary" event, such as music, theatre staging, giant puppets, or whatever else the imagination conjures, just makes a library event more awesome.
And yes, a concert of nerdy music in a library (with or without an author!) still counts as a library event, and a potentially awesome one.
That said, I'm not the most conventional of librarians, especially when it comes to library events that I've organised in the past.
(Incidentally - overheard in my workroom this morning: "What the hell does DFTBA mean???")
The idea for a librarian of having an author visit is to inspire interest in reading/books. Either type of visit could provide that inspiration. You come with a lot more built-in interest than many authors. For example, I used your vlog about censorship to inspire one student to read Looking for Alaska; she went on to become a true nerdfighter who watched every vlogbrothers video from the beginning, has purchased and read all of your books, and attended two of your events last fall. She described one to me as being small (30 people) and the other as being "WAY bigger and not as awesome. There were less writing-related questions and more nerd-related questions." Either type of event would be inspirational, but my nerdfighting student preferred the more traditional format. As for me, I can't imagine ever finding the money to have an author visit--at least while my book budget is so inadequate.
Um - yes please! I second what Andrew said and just because of my personal interests, I am all about mixing in music or other "art" mediums into the programs. Not many kids I know - no matter how amazing - may have the patience to just stare at dude talking to them for an hour straight. You must hook them with something engaging - loudness and bribery works, if that makes any sense!
On a side note - the summer reading theme (at least for my state?) is be creative. I think everything that you and Hank do with the Brotherhood 2.0 and the music would certainly qualify for programming under that umbrella of a theme.
Speaking of, I just emailed you an event request - it would make my littler nerdfighter heart warm if you could respond - even if it is something short and simple.
Hello? Harry and the Potters? Do you even have to ask?
Books + music = boosic! Bring on more boosic!
Like IFTBA mentioned... a lot of Wrockers have concerts in libraries. It works for them, why not for you too?
Pottercast and a few wrock bands are touring this summer and a good portion of their locations are libraries.
I'm not a librarian but I can't tell you how incredibly happy it makes me feel that you are single-handedly making people fall in love with books again. I know you'll think 'no I'm not' but you are. When I was in high school, many people read because they had to. Now, it seems more and more high schoolers are turning off the tv and getting back into reading.
The perfect John & Hank event would be one I could attend! In other words, oh vlog brothers, on your next tour, would you please consider a little jaunt to Toronto? There's an excellent children's library which is also home to an amazing sci-fi collection that would be a natural venue for a nerdfighteria gathering (The Lillian H. Smith library) and there are also several awesome bookstores (This Ain't The Rosedale Library; Pages; Mabel's Fables) who might be good fits, too. (The first two I mentioned have amazing reading series which have often featured non-reading things.)
At our library (Shelby County Libraries, Sidney, Ohio)anything can be a program. Music, authors, art in all medias, you name it can and will be a program at our library if the community has a need or want for it. We do our best to make it as cost effective as possible. I know of libraries that have garage band series on their rooftop during the summer months because that is what their community wants. It brings people to the library and shows our community involvement which is exactly why a library exists, to serve the community! :) Authors that can bring excitement about reading, a specific topic, or just fun in general would be welcome at our library.
At our library (Shelby County Libraries, Sidney, Ohio)anything can be a program. Music, authors, art in all medias, you name it can and will be a program at our library if the community has a need or want for it. We do our best to make it as cost effective as possible. I know of libraries that have garage band series on their rooftop during the summer months because that is what their community wants. It brings people to the library and shows our community involvement which is exactly why a library exists, to serve the community! :) Authors that can bring excitement about reading, a specific topic, or just fun in general would be welcome at our library.
Holy crap, if you and Hank did what you did on the Tour de Nerdfighting but just added Wrockers and possibly Trockers, IT WOULD BE THE BEST THING OF MY LIFE.
The perfect John, Hank and others event would be one I would actually be able to go to!
Come to Colorado, please!
Definitely more like the nerdfighting tour. In our system, traditional author events are poorly attended unless it's a really big name author, but big name authors are generally out of a public library's price range. They're even farther out of range now that everyone is having budget cutbacks. Like you said, the nerdfighting tour had a built-in fan base that was willing to travel and everyone knew that it wasn't going to be a lecture.
I think the idea of combining an author event with music (or something else) and having a whole book-driven love-in is a fabulous idea and would go over well.
Plus, if it were a fan band or a band that people knew, we'd have the benefit of a built-in fan base again. For example, we had a local band (three teenage girls) who sing songs about Twilight play at a Twilight-themed party and it was pretty well attended. I don't think anyone knew the band, but everyone knew Twilight.
I think the big catch will be cost. Our system is having a lot of budget cuts and I think we were better off than a lot of systems from the beginning. I can't imagine what they're going through.
I'm so glad to hear you're thinking about touring again!
- Laura from Plano
I know places like the Hoover Public Library in Alabama often have book-related concerts. Some wrock band came there a couple of summers ago, so they're definitely willing to do such a thing.
This is a brilliant idea.
I can see these events happening in parks. The local libraries can help organize them. Everyone would have a great day outdoors, and in case of rain the event could be moved to the local libraries.
I may not be a librarian, but I am a Library Information Technology student with aspirations of working in youth and teen services in the public sector.
I know our regional public libraries here in Halifax (Nova Scotia) put a lot of importance on hosting events that are community minded. Libraries here serve as a place to host a multitude of events that serve the community. It is not out of place to have art shows, concerts, movie screenings, or craft nights take place at the library along side the author readings, literary talks and book clubs.
Libraries aren't just about books, they are about serving the community and spreading information, technology and knowledge. My favourite libraries here in the city work hard to be a real community center and are generally open to any kind of event. Especially if it promotes library use to teens. (Which is done simply by having an awesome event take place at the library). There is an event room at one of the major branches here that even has it's own baby grand piano for use when they host concerts.
I know one of the libraries here has faced some scrutiny for hosting teen events that are not inside the "norm" for what people expect of a library. They wanted to create a positive space where teens can come spend time and do cool things. They have music and movies and all sorts of stuff going on in a real open inviting environment that isn't necessarily literary focused. It has meant that young people are actually coming to the library to hang out after school (which is unfortunately causing grief with the the connected building's security, who consider it loitering when they're outside the library doors. lame.)
They point of all this, there are many many people involved in libraries today that are trying to change the way they are used by the community and especially by young people. I think these are exactly the kind of events many places would want and be open to.
I work at a library but I am not an librarian. So, personally I know any event that lures teens in to literature is fine. I have a teen book club each month and there are times we barely talk about the book. Instead, we talk about other books or things they want to discuss. Last month two girls debated the merits of the Twilight books and movie. I happily told them both HP is the best (LOL).Honestly, though I think any event that has literature is worthwhile. Books after all involve music many times. Look at "beige" or "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." Music and movies are a huge role in both novels. I know my library would love any program with teen authors. They seem so abstract so meeting in person adds a great three/fourth dimension to the reading experience.
They have Wizard Rock concerts in libraries all the time. I'm sure if you work your network it would be relatively easy to set up.
Seeing as how nerdfighters are willing to travel far and wide, I think you could avoid the whole question of classifying your events if you'd just hold them in places too small to have the mindset or the multiple venues to separately label concerts vs. library functions.
Skip the big cities this time and come to our tiny towns.
Most of our towns have a library, and a place for concerts, and for the cub scouts to hold the pinewood derby, and for the emergency food shelf to operate, and the zoning board to meet, and the rescue squad to brush up on its CPR.
But that's all the same building.
So pick some points on the map, and talk to our librarian-paramedic-selectman-arts coordinators about funding and logistics, and come to our small towns, and bring the nerdfighters to our libracafegymnatoriums, and do whatever you want to do, and don't worry about what to call it.
So I speak not as a librarian, or even as a librarian-in-training, but as an aspiring librarian-in-training who just wrote her library school entrance essay on the need for libraries to change, given that our society and culture is changing. Libraries are not just about books, and haven't been for quite some time. So librarians (and other library staff and public officials and the public at large) need to stop treating libraries as if the only thing they do is books. Don't get me wrong, obviously I think books and reading are important. But there are many other forms of media out there--music, movies, internet, comics--many of which the library already "trades" in. Not to mention that the libraries have a pretty big stake in community, communication, and culture (popular or otherwise). All of which is pretty much what the Nerdfighter community is all about.
So I say bring on the Nerdfighter gathering and all that that entails. Though, I will acknowledge that many libraries lack the actual space to necessary to have such a full-scale Nerdfighter gathering (as was the case in Boston on the Tour De Nerdfighting). So more than anything, I think *that's* likely to be your biggest problem.
But at its core, (and especially in the increasingly digital world) a library should be place to obtain information and a place to exchange ideas. Which pretty much sounds like Nerdfighter gathering to me.
Hi John! While we love it when authors travel to meet us, and it really gets teens in the door, we've been trying to think a little outside of the traditional visit. One option we've talked about at our library is the possibility of getting authors to Skype with a book group. I'm not sure how effectively that would translate with a musical event, but it would really be a great way to connect with our teens in a very intimate way, and be economical at the same time. Our teen book group read Paper Town in December, and really had a lot to talk about after. (as a result, we have official nerdfighters in our book group!)
Ummm... I think you should try to get into the Library of Congress. That would totally make my life, partly because I'd be able to get there easily (relatively speaking- it is D.C. :P) but mostly because it would be crazy awesome! Or come to the National Book Festival on the Mall (yay for something good that happened during the Bush administration :D)
Wherever an event happens, I think books+music could get many more people excited about books and libraries. I don't think libraries/librarians get the credit they deserve sometimes/most of the time. Although my school's librarians are clearly not made of awesome and gave me a weird/confused look when I asked them about Paper Towns. Ugh. Oh well, it seems like a ton of librarians are truly made of awesome. I just wish they were closer :(
We have local-youth-band rock concerts in some of my local libraries, so I definitly think that music and danceing can constitue a library event. Although I definitly think that there should still be a lot of authorly conversation.
(p.s. come to southwestern ontario! more specifically London, although Toronto would work too.)
This is probably going to be the least helpful comment, but I think it's subjective to the library. Having said that, if a library wants you and Hank to come visit, they probably know a bit about you and want the whole package(which includes music and inside jokes).
Libraries aren't just about books anymore. We have videos, and we have movie events. We have music collections, and we host concerts. There's nothing wrong with a blended event, but there is NOTHING wrong with just having a concert/party either.
Have you talked to Libba Bray, Rachel Cohn, and David Levithan? They did the Tiger Beat event which I think went well... I wasn't able to make it to it but I think that's the most similar thing to what you are planning on doing.
The ideal library event would have a mix of speaking and entertainment. If the speaker is engaging enough they don't really need the entertainment, but it hardly ever hurts.
I'd hope for different locations on the next nerdfighter tour, preferably in NM or west TX. Though I might make more of an effort to travel 8-10 hrs away seeing how much fun all my on-line friends had at the tour events.
Question:
I was reading your piece on Prom and can't help but ask, is there any photographic evidence of this pink hair??
Julianne
I know an event like that would probably be favorable at my local library, as well as school libray.
*story time* The other day I was getting an MRI on my ankle, which is a tremendously boring 40 minute process. So, looking for something to do I noticed that printed on the MRI machine was "MAESTRO CLASS" (its brand or something) and what did I start doing but anagramming. my favorite being "so scream last"
We still play shows at libraries all the time and no one seems to mind that it's a concert in a library.
Especially if you mixed in booky/nerdifghtery things... usually libraries are pretty open to anything that gets kids in their facility honestly, even if it's a bit unconventional.
Kristina
songs, jokes, and party favors
As a school librarian my main goal in an author visit (or really in general) is to generate excitement for literature and reading. I find that if a student finds an author interesting/fun/passionate they are more likely to read that author's work even if that student isn't a big "reader" of novels. I much prefer the more interactive presentations...songs, dance, anything more than just sitting is a plus. I think that if it were a school visit I wouldn't want as much of a nerdfighters focus simply because many students wouldn't "get it." Although introducing them to the concept would be great :) After all, reading a blog or comments on a youtube video is still reading!
A LITERATURE MEME!!!!!!!!!
(In case you're getting sick of Question Tuesdays every day)
1) What author do you own the most books by?
2) What book do you own the most copies of?
3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
5) What book have you read the most times in your life?
6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
7) What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
8) What is the best book you've read in the past year?
9) If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for literature?
11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
14) What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
15) What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've seen?
.
17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
18) Roth or Updike?
19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
21) Austen or Eliot?
22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
23) What is your favorite novel?
24) Play?
25) Poem?
26) Essay?
27) Short story?
28) Work of non-fiction?
29) Who is your favorite writer?
30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
31) What is your desert island book?
32) And what are you reading right now?
Um,libraries are cool but, Decatur, Georgia has a lovely book festival sponsored by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution over Labor Day weekend. Last year these kids from way outside of the perimeter came for Harry Potter Trivia with Cheryl Klein... I think lots of people would come to see you too, probably more...
If you find that interesting, I'll talk you up to Terra McVoy who's the Y.A. book festival person about getting you and Hank to come.
I'm a volunteer Librarian, and i have to say that a more involved/multi-layered even is something we are 100% for. We've been looking for new ways to get people to see the library as more of a community center-type place over someplace only ventured for school reports. We've added more services and classes, and we'd be more than happy to host programs similar to what you and Hank have been doing.
~Wynn
Hi John,
I am a YA Librarian in Indy in a school of over 3000. I would love to host you two and have a nerdfighter party! If books don't bring them in than music will and vice verse.
Funding is the only problem. We would have to raise the money, find a grant, or charge admission. The state is very picky about what they will pay for with public funds. If the price was right, most of the students could afford to attend. They might have to leave the Flaming Hot Cheetos in the vending machine for a day or two, but I am sure they would to hang out with you and Hank :-).
If attendance was an issue, we could host an event in collaboration with other with area high schools.
It would be good to have a few months in advance of the visit to do some viral marketing, and to tie the visit in with our cyber book club and/or maybe a reading challenge with another school.
It would still be nice for you and Hank to participate in a small "green room" chat with my underground readers before or after the event for an hour or so. The group would consist of the teens who would more than likely help organize the event.
Hope this helps and would love to have you both at my school!
Why attach yourselves to libraries at all?
Most anybody who will attend anything at a library is already a convert to literacy.
Why not approach this as a bookish concert, instead of as an author coming to a library with special bonus feature Hank?
John and Hank,
I'm a high school librarian who just hosted a fantastic author visit with Will Weaver, who brought a race car to my school. That bought him some cred. Check it: http://west.iccsd.k12.ia.us/library
I would make a handful of suggestions as you are looking to tour libraries and schools.
1. Try to keep your prices as reasonable as you can. Budgets are a serious problem right now and schools are feeling a serious pinch. But, the good librarians will find ways to get great authors and any help from the financial side will help.
2. Consider facilitating communication among schools and libraries regionally so that travel expenses for you guys could be shared. Such as, post to the Nerdfighters when you are thinking of going on tour and get them to talk to their librarians and parents and principals and those in neighboring communities, etc.
3. When you do present, I think you should really consider focusing on some of the themes you addressed in your ALAN speech last year. I think teens need to hear that they should be respected and that they ARE intelligent and that they can get something other than boredom from literature and that there are authors out there who write smart, funny, excellent books that their English teachers think suck (no offense, obviously I don't think that). You should pitch not only your books, but all the great YA lit of the past several years. You should use big words and complex sentences. You should open their eyes to the joy of making it through Octavian and the fun of Peeps and Suite Scarlet. Give them a YA lit lesson that will make them demand those great books.
4. And also be silly. Hank should sing. You should be geeky. Maybe 'accidentally' swear once.
More logistical and thematic ideas available by request.
Thanks for all that you both do for our teens. Your work is part of the reason I love my job.
Jill
Vancouver Public Library hosted the wizard rock band, The Whomping Willows, last fall (or possibly summer) so I can't see why they wouldn't want you to come with Hank singing. I would come!
The library by my house is a cute, small library that loves hosting events not related to books. My brother just went to a SuperSmash Brothers event today, and he went to a Guitar Hero competition last week.
I think that when you set up events that are interactive, the library becomes less of a quiet, almost lonely place, and more of a familiarized and comfortable place to be in.
After coming home, my brother asked me if I thought his library card expired. I think being in the library so much lately for events not related to books has sparked an interest in him still.
Hello John,
You know that librarians think that Book Cart Drill Teams Competitions are fun and entertaining. Why would you think libraries wouldn't want you and Hank together (if Willie could come, too, an added bonus!)? You can try to compartmentalize yourself as this is the "author me" or the "vlogger me", or the "nerdfighter me", but they are all you. Anywhere that has the honor of having you visit is quite fortunate.
OK, less fawning - more facts.
I think you should check out book festivals in the states and worldwide. In Louisiana, the catch phrase on the web site for the state festival is "Food, Music, Exhibitors, Crafts too!" (For reference, http://www.louisianabookfestival.org/ and Library of Congress list of festivals in USA and around the world http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/bookfair.html )
State and annual events are more likely to have money. Speaking from experience, when several local school and public libraries and bookstores work together in an area to bring in an author, it is tough to plan, but it is how it is often done to split costs. You and Hank (and Willie) will be shuttled around and present more than once a day for varying audiences.
Honestly, I think you have reached the level of "Field of Dreams" and I loved someone else's idea of you touring small towns. Get a tour manager to work with your editor. You know people at NPR. My favorite tour T-shirt is from Car Talk's 10th Anniversary Tour. I'll have to take a picture but it features such locales as "Nissenbaum's Junk Yard", "Aram's #2 House of Pizza", "Massachusetts Correctional Institution" and my favorite "Back Seat of the Dart".
So let me sum up:
1. Find places you want to go.
2. See if there is a festival or street corner there.
3. Set dates and Vlog, blog, Twitter, ning, email, pay for a Superbowl commercial, but get the word out.
4. Make tour T-shirts and posters that are full of awesomeness.
5. You will start to hear James Earl Jones' voice chanting, "if you build it, they will come."
6. You will realize it is only Hank with a Vader voice changer mask on.
5. Show up.
Thanks for asking.
Alicia
Yay! Yay! Yay! We're just excited that you are thinking about another tour! I think whatever combination of events you choose to present will be well attended and meaningful. As everyone else has said the purpose of the library is to provide a place of information and ideas. I know that sometimes you have to validate any non traditional ideas to a director, but you make it very easy because the nerdfighting events are inspiring and thoughtful.
the kind of nerdfighter events I like? One's that are close enough to attend!!
As I think someone else said, the perfect nerdfighting event would just be one that I could manage to go to!
I think the folks that have been pushing the "small towns" tour are really on top of it. Stick to the libraries, get the kids reading books - but for every small town with an average of two or three nerdfighters, theres at least 50 teens and young adults who are just waiting for a reason to read. As someone who grew up in a small town, every time something like an author visit happened (not often. ever.) it was a huge event - you're likely to get a huge response out of people who would, in a larger setting, not be drawn to such an event.
Call to a broader audience, go out on a limb here and there. Skip Atlanta, GA and head out to Monroe, bypass Charlotte, NC for Raleigh or Greenville - you have the ability to encourage people to read, so take it to the places where reading is less encouraged. :D Do something extravagant!
All the above, but with nerdfighterly pay-by-donation food for a charity. Like Shakespeare cupcakes or something.
What ever you do is fine as long as you get people excited about books and get them to read few.
All I ask is that you come to Louisiana. That's it.
We are trying to start some kind of Teen Reading Festival at my library and would love it if authors had an etc. factor like you do. We were lucky enough to host you at a library event last year (which was a regular podium speaking thing, but better because you are a great speaker) and I saw you in Knoxville (with Hank, where you read and sang and did Q&A) and I enjoyed both, but I think for most teens the more interactive, the better. And I think most libraries want to get teens in the library and are willing to do whatever it takes. :)
Susan from Spartanburg, SC
(BTW, when the teens discuss authors for our new Teen specific festival, your name is always mentioned!)
Hi there!
Long time Nerdfighter, first time blog poster.
I am the Teen Librarian for a library system in Northern Kentucky and I would be VERY interested in booking a Hank & John Nerdfighter/Author visit event!!!! We have a beautiful new two story library with a stage and a meeting room that fits 300.
Our library booked The High Strung (http://www.thehighstrung.com/), when they did their library tour a couple of years back and it was super cool.
Hope to see this tour happen!!
-Dawn
PS- John, is there any chance that you will be at the American Library Association Conference in July??
I am not a librarian. However, I think the worlds of books and music are closely related. As an example, I refer you to the Rock Bottom Remainders.
On another note, the perfect John and Hank event would take place somewhere in western Montana and include a contest of some sort between John and Hank.
More making the audience interact with each other somehow, much less reading books out loud. Almost everyone has already seen you read them on YouTube, more interesting is Q&A.
Everything should be done in a pool: the talk, the music, everything.
You would be encouraging reading AND exercise.
Just think of the possibilities...
I'm Lora, the librarian, that helped organize the Ames, IA event on your tour. My thought about this whole thing is that any author wanting to visit a library would be welcome. At the Ames library we have concerts all the time, we show movies, and we host all types of events that aren't necessarily literary. I've always thought this was okay because libraries have so much more in their collections than books. Libraries are more than books, they are a way to bring a community together.
Your tour events can be musical and more concert like, but they bring people together in a library (or near one at least) and that is amazing. Especially bringing teenagers into a library. I think any event that an author wanted to do with a library would be encouraged.
I hope this means a new tour is in the making!
Hello John!
I'm a Youth Librarian for a small city in California. I've been to a lot of author visits and I really enjoy them! But the events that really get kids of all ages to respond are the ones full of
enthusiasm! Both you and Hank have a gift for inspiring people.
The programs I look for are fun and entertaining! I love when authors do more than just talk. I’ve never seen you or Hank live before, but my favorite author visit was Daniel Handler/ Lemony Snicket. He sang played the accordion, read, and answered questions. Kids, teens, and adults had the greatest time.
So, I guess what I’m trying to say is mix the two.
I know many other library folk posted this before, but price is a big issue at the moment. As a small public library, we would LOVE to have both of you come to visit us! Thanks for asking!
~Jaime Heller
Banning Library District
I think it sounds like a really fun possibility. Especially if there could be some cost sharing between public and school libraries who might be willing to co-sponsor such an event.
Speaking of library visits, I am a school librarian at Hinsdale Central High School outside of Chicago. We are really interested in having you come to visit our school (as well as Hinsdale South High School) next year, hopefully in the fall.
I had some initial contact with the PR department at Penguin (so I know how much you charge for school visits), but it has now been a couple of months since I tried to follow up about specifc dates and I haven't had any of my e-mails or phone calls returned.
I know you prefer to have visit requests organized through your publisher, but since we're hoping to set something up for this coming fall, I wanted to try additional ways of trying to get in touch with you or "your people" :)
I am also going to try e-mailing you, so I apologize in advance for duplicating this request.
Thank you,
Stephanie Gray
School Librarian
Hinsdale Central High School
sgray@hinsdale86.org
I would love any event that got teens in the door (we have a tiny library), and something more creative, especially involving music, would do that.
That being said, only the bigger libraries would have the accomodations for that kind of an event, and smaller libraries like authors too! I say this from Wabash, IN...
i think its still a library event.
the perfect one would be in adelaide, SA (that, being where i live, i cant afford to go to melbourne)
I really hope you guys can come to DC (or the surrounding Maryland suburbs) sometime! :)
I think you should make sure there's still a good portion of time for Q and A and book related talking, not just all music, haha. :)
I'm an almost-librarian graduating this summer and an English teacher now, and honestly, I think that the majority of libraries that have a solid youth programming sector are open to everything that brings kids in. One of the "in" things that I've noticed for a lot of libraries is video gaming clubs and nights. Nothing about this fits into the traditional, narrow, view of libraries; it is to get kids in the door and to create a safe space for them to have fun.
I can relate to nerdfighter events feeling a little inside-joke-ish. I went to see you speak in Columbus this past October and had a BLAST, but I felt like I didn't understand a lot that was happening. (Not going to lie, I googled DFTBA when I got home that night!) However, what impressed me and the other teacher I spoke to all afternoon was that these kids were there, and they had really insightful questions! It was as if the best three literature students from every school got together in that one teeny space and got their brains racked to see things that I can hope for one student to recognize a couple times in a year.
OK, I'm rambling again, but I think that really, whatever you and Hank do will be great at a library. No library that I frequent or that I'm applying to work in would have qualms about a goofy sing-along too; they would be simply elated that there will be a waiting list for some really fantastic young adult books instead! Ultimately, you and Hank are very funny and easy to relate to for most students, even those who don't like to read or aren't, typically, nerds. That positive attitude will be appreciated in whatever outlet you choose. :)
Something that's hot right now is you come and speak but also get audience participation. Have people prepare 5 minutes skits or acts. And give people a chance to impress you and Hank. Then do a viewer's choice award or you and Hank pick the winners. The Dresden Dolls are an example of a touring act that did this their last season. This allows for audience participation. teen are into this. They don't want to just sit and soak in. They want to create. It creates a feel of community. We would love to host you at the Eva Perry Library in Apex. This is where the group of teen was from you met in the ALA at DC. "We are in your library reading your books."
Bring the music! I'd love the chance to partner with some of the other YA library groups around the city to make an event to remember. I like the idea of taking it outdoors. It shatters so many preconceived notions of the library.
As to the insiderness of nerdfighting, we can always do some edumacation of our groups to make sure they're in the "know."
Our friends in Gadsden have not stopped talking about your visit yet!
Emmet O'Neal Library
Mountain Brook, AL
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home