When I sat down
to discuss my professional interests with Lynnea Erickson, I had no
idea that mention of my interest in public library programming during
our half hour conversation would lead to something so wonderful: my
directed fieldwork experience as a Public Programming Intern at the
King County Library System.
Working on a number of projects in the Public Programming Office during
spring quarter 2003, I've definitely gained a more "behind-the-scenes"
perspective of public programming.
My previous exposure
to programming in public libraries had been limited to on-site sorts
of activities: cursory promotion, greeting the presenters and performers,
making sure the area was set up to suit their needs, being present during
the event to make sure it went smoothly (which, I might add, often does
not, but that's another story). This was the easy part. Planning the
event has many facets: contacting the author or performer, negotiating
a contract with a publisher, making all of the arrangements, promoting
the events, maintaining internal communication channels with staff at
the branches or locations where the event is to take place (this is
SO important… I cannot count the number of times I've witnessed
an author or performer show up to do a program, greeted by the startled
staff who had not been informed of the event), etc.
Working with my
site supervisors -- Deborah Schneider, KCLS' Public Programming Coordinator,
and Chapple Langemack, KCLS' Reader's Services Coordinator -- in the
KCLS Service Center in Issaquah has been a delight! As someone who secretly
and continually questions his own abilities, the incredible volume of
responsibility and trust placed in me over the course of my internship/DFW
prompted me to shed my own perceived limitations and tell myself, "And
just why can't I do this? It's not like everyone else isn't repairing
the plane while flying it." KCLS is learning as they go along,
and several other library systems nationwide are studying their evolving
model.
Contacting authors
to generate interest in participating in KCLS programs -- most notably
Teen Read Month, Oct. 15-Nov. 15, 2003 -- has been the most eye-opening
aspect of my experience. Expecting to have to follow a strict set of
guidelines, I was taken aback slightly the first time Deborah said,
"Why don't you go ahead and email the author directly and ask if
he's interested?"
Indeed, I've ended
up pitching program ideas to authors, publishers, and publicists via
grassroots methods more than any "official" method. I emailed
Chronicle Books directly to pitch a program idea involving Joshua Piven
and David Borgenicht, authors of The
Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook series. I emailed Karin
Lowachee, author of the critically acclaimed YA novel, Warchild,
to generate her interest in a future program, and have since maintained
an email conversation with her about her upcoming book (Burndive), the
state of the SARS situation in Toronto (where she lives and works),
and have made plans to meet her for a cup of coffee while there for
the ALA Conference. And most exciting -- for me, at least -- was handing
a letter of invitation to the legendary Francesca
Lia Block during her recent visit to the University Bookstore, and
answering questions for her about KCLS.
After researching
and approaching some authors and publishers, I helped Deborah pitch
some ideas for Teen Read Month to the YA librarians and some administrators
with the help of a PowerPoint presentation that I put together (thank
you, iSchool!). I have also attended and evaluated the success of several
programs.
Chapple, who handles
the big name author events, throws things my way at a rapid pace. I've
researched authors, generated ideas for promoting library programs,
written promotional copy for events, composed online newsletters and
booklists in support of some programs, helped develop a procedural checklist
for author events, and have even written an official proposal to a publisher
for an author event. I've worked in one capacity or another on author
events such as Tom Robbins, Dave Barry, Erik Larson, and Jacqueline
Mitchard. Chapple joked to me once that she thinks of at least three
new things every day for me to do. It's no joke; she sends all of those
things my way, and I love doing them. This is because when I see the
results of our efforts (or similar efforts) in action, my career choice
is once again validated.
For example (although
this was not a KCLS program), when I listened to Francesca Lia Block
answer questions from audience members who came to see her, I was struck
by the presence of dozens (not a few… DOZENS!) of gay and lesbian
teens who had come to see her. Clearly, her books have significantly
touched this segment of the population, and bringing her to these teens
was nothing short of a spiritual experience for them. Another teen,
who sat next to me during the event, told me that she and her mother
had driven up from Portland to see Francesca Lia Block. Her excitement
before the event was intoxicating and rubbed off on me. Those of us
bringing authors to the public must be doing something right if we're
contributing to the quality of people's lives on such a profound level.
Will this experience
make me a better librarian? Knowing what goes into such an event provides
insight on how to propose, plan, and carry out such an event. Public
programming has become a vital part of public libraries' service plans,
and should continue to be developed and improved over the years. This
gives us the opportunity to evaluate, develop, and promote our collections.
Many librarians don't know how to contact an author or set up such an
event. On top of all the satisfaction I've felt, I would say that this
experience makes me a bit more marketable as well. (And that never hurts,
considering the job market, does it?)
Deborah and Chapple
(and some of the other staff in the Service Center) are eager to continue
exploring and participating in the Directed Fieldwork Program. If you
think this sounds like something you might want to pursue, go see Lynnea
Erickson in the Student Services Office. She set this up for me, and
I can't thank her enough; it's changed my life and my own professional
perspective.
And my advice for
future DFW participants at this site: go in with a sense of adventure
and an open mind, be prepared to have things thrown your way at the
speed of light and run with them, keep in mind that you won't be the
only person in the office learning as you're doing, and be prepared
to have a lot of fun! Oh yeah, possessing a wicked sense of humor helps
too.
