What's new or different

This can be played in large libraries and small ones and at a potluck, meeting, or as part of the day's work.

There is always something new or different about our library or the people in it. On a regular and rotating basis have someone announce - "What's changed in the building today?" - or "What's changed in the building in the last year?" - something equally lame. This forces everyone to focus of the familiar and search for the unfamiliar (or taken for granted). Maybe it is that a burned out light has been replaced; or someone with a beard has shaved; or a tile has been replaced with a tile of a different color; or there's a member of the library team; etc., etc., and so forth. In any event, the answer(s) are submitted to the person who raised the challenge and he/she announces the winner. (The mechanics of this might have to be worked out to ensure equity, etc.)

As always, there is as much fun in the planning as there is in the actual event.

So, check my Facebook page - can you figure out what's different this week?

Potlucks rule - do you have a Potluck Ruler?

We all enjoy a nice potluck event. They are a wonderful opportunity to share food and conversation about food with our colleagues, and maybe exchange a recipe or two along the way.

Who is in charge of organizing your potlucks? Do you have a Potluck Queen or King? Think of the fun you could have. The potluck doesn't begin until the Queen or King arrives in the Potluck Parade attended by their retinue, contributors, hangers-on and paparazzi. There could even be showers of ticker-tape (or confetti from the shredder) to honor their entrance; or how about a chorus of cell phone ring tones. The Queen and/or King reads a Royal Proclamation announcing the beginning of the potluck and then the event commences.

If at any time and for any reason your Potluck Royalty decide to abdicate, there can be an Official Passing of Potluck Ladle to the successor - at, of course, a Potluck!

I want to thank my friend Traci Villa for first calling my attention to the idea of Potluck Queen!

Moses Supposes ...

There is a wonderful song in Singin' in the Rain called Moses Supposes. It is a bit of tongue twisting trickery to help the male lead improve his elocution for the transition from silent films to talkies.

Moses supposes his toeses are Roses,
But Moses supposes Erroneously,
Moses he knowses his toeses aren't roses,
As Moses supposes his toeses to be!

Well, why not have a Moses Supposes event at your next Potluck? People can choose their own tongue twister for solo or ensemble competitions. There are plenty of tongue twisters available on the Web. (For example: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/tongue-twisters-for-adults.html) A prize can be awarded to the most dextrous and accurate of recitations - perhaps the Order of the Twisted Tongue?

Library Limericks

This could be fun with prizes for creating the best original limerick and for discovering the best the Web has to offer. Simply create or find a library limerick. This is probably harder than it sounds and there are "rules" for what constitues the true meter of a limerick; still, why not give it a try.

Here are a couple I found on the Web:

http://northmetrotechlibraryatacworth.blogspot.com/2007/04/library-limericks.html

And here's one I wrote myself:

There is a most famous librarian.
Whose name, no surprise, is Marian,
She stands smiling and steady,
Her date stamp at the ready,
To checkout books her patrons are carryin'!

Things that start with IO

I thought of this AFTER my visit to Iowa. Here is a game to identify some possibly famous or well known names, places, words that begin Io:

Io – Moon of Jupiter

Ion – Electrically charged atom

Iolanthe – Operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan

Ionesco – French playright, i.e., Rhinocerous

Iowa – Midwestern US state

Iodine – Element; used in medicine as an antiseptic

IOU – Written acknowledgement of a debt

Iota – A very small quantity; also, ninth letter of the Greek alphabet

Ionia – Ancient region of Asia Minor colonized by the ancient Greeks

Ionosphere – A region of the earth’s atmosphere

Helene Lafrance Technology Free Day

Posted on behalf of Paula Popma - a true hero to fans of Humor in Libraries everywhere!


Helene Lafrance Technology-Free Day at Santa Clara University

It all started with a casual comment made by a librarian to a group of colleagues on a break together prior to the start of Fall Quarter – “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could have just one day without technology,”  Thus, Helene Lafrance Technology-Free Day was born.



How, you may ask, in a busy academic library can you get by without any staff using their PC, reading their email, or answering voice mail messages for an entire day?  This was before wide-spread use of cell phones, instant messaging, or Twitter, just a mere ten years ago.   We accomplished this through team work and a library-wide spirit of fun.



The first step was to get approval from the University Librarian, which we did.  The second step was to pick a day when very few students and faculty were on campus.  We chose a day after the end of Fall Quarter and prior to campus shut down for the Christmas holiday, when the Library had reduced hours.
We realized that there would be a few patrons who wouldn’t know what to do with themselves unless they could use the library, so there were a couple of exceptions to the computer ban:

1. Circulation staff were allowed to check out and check in materials on the computer.
2. Reference staff were allowed to help patrons use our online catalog and electronic databases.  

We all know how attached library folk are to their computers, so what did we do instead?
Back then, there were still a number of computer-free library tasks.

• Since it was the end of the quarter, there were plenty of books to shelve.
• Mail and boxes could be opened and sorted.
• New books and current issues of journals could be property stamped and tattle taped.
• Microfiche was filed.
• Subject specialists reviewed approval slips.
• Many staff took the opportunity to clean up their workspace, and file or recycle piles of paper.

There were group activities throughout the day.

• A holiday potluck (Isn’t food always involved at library events?)
• A campus historical tour was led by a staff member from the History Dept.
• After eating way too much at the potluck, a brisk walk around campus was led by the University Librarian.
• Ballroom dance lessons were conducted by two staff who were into ballroom dancing way before “Dancing with the Stars” was a hit.
• A  “How Well Do You Know Your Co-Workers” contest was conducted, and prizes awarded for the most correct answers and the least number of correct answers.

For those staff who didn’t think they could make it through the day without their PC or email, we offered an early morning Computer-free Support Group.  We set up old dumb terminals in the staff lounge, connected to nothing, and let staff pound away on the key boards.



Despite all of our efforts to keep staff off of their computers, several staff received “Scarlet Letters of Technological Doom” for being caught on their PCs.  At the end of the day, “I Can’t Live Without Technology” certificates were awarded to the Electronic Services Team for blatantly ignoring the prohibition to stay off their PCs, and to a librarian for coming in early, using her PC and thinking no one would know. 


 “Moan and Groan” certificates were awarded to a staff member who used every method possible as support for staying off his PC including taping his mouse to his arm and hand to give himself shots of clicks, and to a librarian who tried to bribe two other staff not to check her office to see if she was on her PC.

I have worked in four academic libraries over thirty-six years, and I don’t think I have ever had this much fun on any one single day – maybe except for Beige Day, but that’s a story for another time.

Closing Ceremonies

How do you announce the closing of your library? Do you have student assistants or staff or security staff alert people that it's time to get shakin'? Perhaps there is an announcement on the PA system reminding people that in <n> minutes they will turn into library pumpkins.

Here's another thought. Instead of making an unadorned announcement on the PA system, preface it with some appropriate music, for example, you could play Tonight from West Side Story and after the opening, Tonight, tonight, won't be just any night, you then announce, "But we are closing in 15 minutes anyway;" or instead of having your student assistants walk through the building, they could be humming (or singing), Good night patrons, good night patrons, good night patrons, the library is closing now!

Silly? You bet. But also a little fun detour off the beaten path.

Library Calendar

What do you do with all the pictures you take of special occasions, celebrations, birthdays, etc., etc., and so forth. Post them up on a social networking site? Excellent. Put them on the library intranet? Well done.

How about create a print calendar of them and use that as internal and external marketing tool?

This was done at Santa Clara University to excellent effect. A group selected photos that represented the best of the year and that also captured all of the members of the library. Then, one of of our digitally gifted colleagues created the layout for the calendar. And finally we sent it out for production and distribution. The calendar was given out as part of our end of the year holiday party; it was a simple way to thank everyone for their hard work and also to be reminded of the year's accomplishments and fun moments.

We also made copies of the calendar available to members of the University senior staff to remind them, too, of how active and productive the library had been.

This turns out to be a simple and comparatively quiet way to keep the successes and good times of the library in the minds (and hearts?) of the library and University community.

You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby

This is a popular and simple game to play and it is a lot of fun.

Ask the members of your library to bring in a baby picture. Hang all the baby pictures in a central location and invite your colleagues to match the baby with the adult incarnation. The person who gets the most correct wins a suitable prize.

Try to get as much diversity as possible. When I last did this I was the only boy baby and it was pretty easy for my colleagues to identify me.

Teddy Bear Tea Party

Here's a little whimsy for your afternoon break:

The details of the Teddy Bear Tea Party go back to discussions between two colleagues at Santa Clara University who shared an enjoyment of Teddy Bears and would discuss them from time to time, and thought it would be fun to entertain them at work.  They agreed that a get together in the staff room during afternoon break would be lovely.  Tea seemed an appropriately elegant drink and one of my colleagues had especially an elegant little Bear; staff were invited to come with their own Bears; tea was served; conversation among the Bears was muted but invigorating; and a good time was had by all.

This could be done with any sort or assortment of stuffed animals.

(Thanks to Sheila Conway and Alice Whistler for the idea.)

The LC Subject is Food; or Not

Here's an idea for your next potluck event.

When people sign up for what to bring, instead of signing up for the dish they have in mind, ask them to instead use an appropriate LC Subject Heading; if one isn't descriptive enough, or doesn't exist, make up addition descriptors or headings. For example, if I were to bring gin martinis (and don't we wish) I might sign up for "Martinis--Ingredients--Gin (Bombay Sapphire)--Garnishes (Olives)". There is actually an LC heading "Martinis" but the rest is all fiction.

Okay. Once the signup list has been completed, someone transcribes the information and makes copies that are distributed at the potluck. Then multiple games could be played:

1) Who can best discern the real LC headings from the counterfeits?
2) Which of the headings is the cleverest? most descriptive? etc.

Warning: I have never actually tried this or heard about it being done, but there is great fun just in trying something new.

Here are a couple of foot-fashion-related activities.

Designate a day as Knock Your Socks Off or Shoes Fly Don't Bother Me (I like bad puns).

Everyone is invited to come in either their most extravagant socks or footwear or both.
Those who participate (and participation is always optional) meet for a little potluck or coffee and a nosh. The footwear is shown off and ooh-ed and aah-ed over AND a picture is taken of the feet only.

The picture is then posted in staff room or some other place where only the library community can see it - an intranet would be good for this - and it is the challenge of the non-participants to match the feet with the people. The person who gets the most correct gets an appropriate prize - perhaps a recording of Nancy Sinatra's These Boots are Made for Walking? - and, if there is a generous knitter on your staff, a pair of hand-knitted socks. This is a cool way to have some fun and to show-off the arts & crafts talents of your staff.

This was tried in part at the University of the Pacific and a good time was had by all who participated.

Pimp My Bookcart

Here's another fun book cart event based on the popular (?) TV show called pimp my ride. I don't like the term especially but there is great opportunity for creativity, pomp, and audience participation. This idea could be combined with the artistic flair portion of Synchronized BookShelving to get 2, 2, 2 fun events in one.

http://www.unshelved.com/pimpmybookcart/2009

Thanks to my former colleague and friend Kathryn Dunn for bringing this one to my attention.

Synchronized Book Shelving

There are lots of good ideas for fun with book carts - the Book Cart Drill Team is well known. Others libraries have used book truck slalom races (Cal Poly-SLO) and speed shelf reading from the book cart effectively (Virginia Commonwealth University). Here is another:

Synchronized Book Shelving

This will require a judge or panel of judges. It is a great way to involve your student assistants in the fun of the library. The suggestions below are for teams of two shelvers at a time, but could you try it with more.

Clear one shelf each on two adjacent ranges of shelves.

Place the books from those shelves on two book carts.

The two book shelvers must then reshelve the books with their motions matching one another – think synchronized swimming.

Points are awarded on the basis of time, synchronicity and artistic flair – the shelvers and the trucks could appear in matching or complementary attire.

The winner is the team with the highest point total. Award could be a picture of the team with its cart which is posted in the circulation area along and some little gift – perhaps an ‘NSync CD, just for fun?

This could be done a couple of times during the year with a championship match at an appropriate time; or not.

Book Jacket Beauty Pageant

Every month the team in technical services selects their 5-10 favorite book jackets. There is no selection criterion; it is up to each person to decide what makes a book jacket worthy.

At the end of the month, the book jackets are displayed for the whole library community to look at and vote on. The community could and should include student assistants. The book jacket with the most votes becomes Book Jacket of the Month.

This process continues for a year by which time there are 12 candidates for Book Jacket of the Year.

A beauty pageant is organized. An emcee and panel of judges is selected. Members of the library community (at least) are invited to BE the book jacket, model the book jacket and answer questions about why this jacket should be Jacket of the Year (“Because I’ll promise not to let anyone judge me by my looks.).

The judges vote and present their tally to the emcee who announces the winners from 5^th to 1^st. The winning book jackets gets a tiara, a photograph and an explanation of why it won; this might be displayed on the library web site or an intranet.

There is an assessment to see what worked and what didn’t and then the process either repeats as is, with modification, or archived as a good try.

(My thanks to colleagues at Research Libraries Group, Inc for creating the prototype for this with the Fish of the Month contest.)

First Post

Friends,

Is "Humor in Libraries" an oxymoron? I think not. In fact, there are many great stories about how libraries of all shapes and sizes have developed and incorporated humorous and fun activities into their daily lives. Who benefits? Everyone. People who work in the library are energized and people who come into the library pleasantly surprised. As Ilene Rockman wrote, "it is important to pay attention to job satisfaction, work productivity and job burnout. Fun, creativity, and humor can have a positive effect by reducing absenteeism, retaining high quality people, and reducing the likelihood of employee turnover." Plus, smiling is a good thing by itself!

So my creativity, fun, and humorous colleagues, please share your stories of what works and what didn't, what you'd like to try but haven't, and if developing a culture of humor in the library really does have a positive payoff.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Fred