Thursday, March 21, 2019
Location:  Pinson Public Library

Attendees:
Leslie, Avondale
Allison, Pinson
Prince Socrates Hugo (Socks the Library Cat), Pinson
Terri, Vestavia Hills
Deidre, Bessemer
Sunni, Gardendale
Laura, Trussville
Susan, Trussville
David, Central, ALS
Deni, Hoover
Judith, Homewood
Michelle, Irondale
Jiemin, Central

TOPIC:  Popular Culture in the library

Thank you to Allison for the wonderful tour of the NEW Pinson Library!  One popular change has been categorizing popular movies into Genres such as:  Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Fantasy, SciFi, Foreign, Musical.  They are also considering doing "Binge Bundles" -- a very pop culture thing is to BINGE movies and series, so bundling these together appeals to families and others!

One thing I brought up that I've noticed is that most Children's events done by libraries are now "themed" with popular culture.  Instead of advertising a craft afternoon, libraries are having Pokemon Crafts or something like that.  It appeals to younger families.  Requires no explanations - iconic images do all the advertising for you!

Themed Movie Marathons:  Irondale tried running Alfred Hitchcock films in October but it wasn't as successful as they had thought it would be.  Vestavia Hills did a Coen Brothers Movie Marathon with the same results.  Others have held popular movie marathons -- sometimes its as simple as the state of the weather that determines popularity.

One very popular program at VH has been Rock & Roll Bingo -- kind of like "Name that Tune" but with Bingo.  Not only could you do different types of music but also music from different decades.  Prizes include boxed candy from the Dollar Store.  About six libraries at the meeting have invested in popcorn makers -- that seems to be an easy crowd pleaser but not an easy cleanup!  At Bessemer and VH, they use ARC copies of books as prizes.  They are the first to go when given a choice.  Along those lines, the Birmingham Convention Center gave Dee from Bessemer Alabama Bicentennial Bingo cards -- I have uploaded those to our shared Goggle Docs Drive...click here to access 11 pages of fun!

Several libraries have ventured into "after-hour" events with varied success.  There are some great "geeky" themes that are wonderful for Millennial patrons with new families or those looking for safe fun.  Some ideas (not all are after-hours) are Game Night, Role-Playing Games such as Dungeons & Dragons, and Themed Trivia Night.  Hoover is celebrating its fifth year of the SciFi/Fantasy Festival in July!  If your community has a comic book store or Gaming store, that is a good place to start with partnerships.  

Homewood has a very popular and successful Regency Ball in conjunction with the Jane Austen Society.  Downton Abbey teas are still popular.  What about celebrating a Royal wedding or new birth?  (Beware:  there is a Downton Abbey movie coming in the Fall of 2019!)

Irondale reports that any craft event that involves bath bombs or aromatic products is a huge success there.  However, be aware that highly aromatic crafts may bother those with allergies or asthma.  Surprisingly, one of Irondale's most popular adult craft event was "Paint a Chicken"!!  (I tried to sign up but it was full!!)

COPYRIGHT:  As with superhero themes and Disney-related programs, the library must be aware of various issues surrounding copyright of images and words, along with trademarked items.  For instance, you cannot use "Bob Ross" painting event without paying the Bob Ross Foundation.  You cannot share to social media things that are covered.  There are ways to avoid this by renaming programs that evoke the theme.  Anyone for "Little Happy Trees"???

Along those lines, most libraries pay a fee to a movie licensing agency such as Swank, Motion Picture Licensing, 20th Century Fox or Movie Licensing USA.  These agencies give you the option of viewing and showing protected movies.  Costs vary by agency.  For instance, Homewood wanted to do a "Women Making History" film event.  The documentary RBG was not covered under Swank and those films from Magnolia Films were $400 a piece.  It doesn't always work out!

Speaking of movies, Hoover has recently had huge success circulating ROKU sticks pre-loaded with popular movies (binge watching with a three inch stick!)  Additionally, Hoover has bought several subscriptions to Netflix, which are accessible via the ROKU sticks.  For patrons undecided about Netflix or for those who want to marathon watch Arrow!  Also, Hoover separates superhero movies into their respective powerhouses:  DC and Marvel. Instead of putting it alphabetically on the shelf, all DC movies are together and so on.  Those browsing for Guardians of the Galaxy often want all the movies at once and this has helped.

Nostalgia plays a huge role in why these popular culture phenomenon are such a success:  Golden Girls, Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, Friends, you name it:  patrons will love recalling a more simpler time!

Got a band member on staff? Ask the band to perform for your patrons!  Have a crafty person on staff or a budding artist?  Ask them to create a program and simplify materials and process.  (For instance, we've found a paint pour craft program is costly and VERY messy!)

Registration for ongoing programs seems to be an acknowledged and legitimate way of assessing attendance.  However, it is not a determinate of success!  As an example, one library (forgive me, who?) had an excess of huge cardboard boxes and decided to do a drive-in movie with kids making the boxes into cars (super cute!)  Although 75 people registered for the event, only 19 showed!!!

Other craft-related events:  3-D printing workshop, invite a ceramist (Judith, you mentioned Norma someone?), Zentangle workshop, etc.

Irondale has had success with another "zeitgeist" theme of Urban Homesteading.  Tapping into the Irondale Growers Group, she has been able to hold programs such as beekeeping and organic growing.

Has anyone taken advantage of Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing?  Or perhaps you'd prefer a musical program through the Birmingham Art/Music Alliance?

There are so many ideas!!!!  Take advantage of trends, retrospectives and good-feeling revivals to create popular and fun programming, collections and events!