Everybody's Reading Toolkit
WARRINGTON
Project 1 - Reading Fortune
Aims
- To make people curious about their local library
- To encourage people to pick up new reads
- To create a buzzing atmosphere!
Where
12th May 2001 At Warrington Library
Target group
This attracts a wide range of people - however a large percentage of our customers were females aged 15 to 45!
What took place
Imagine walking into the library on a warm and sunny Saturday - only to find a bright gazebo in the middle of the fiction section! On its outside you notice a poster: FORTUNE READINGS - ONLY TODAY - FREE ADMISSION. Inside the tent you can make out a shadowy figure, a woman in colourful skirts, silky cloth draped around her waist, golden jewellery in her hair. She is? - She was Madame Janet Puzylo, the library's fortune-teller for the day and a brave librarian indeed! Young people and adults alike cued and listened whilst the Janet foretold each of them of their next read: brilliant novels and storybooks most people had not even looked at before.
Tips, strengths and weaknesses
Tips
- We repeated the fortune-telling event at our local Shopping Centre, just a few days later; and we were overrun by requests - people even wanted to pay for the session!
- Having stilt walkers and circus artists with us at the stall, clearly helped.
- Credits also to the Body Shop, which offered a free make-over - to go with the 'reading make-over' delivered by our fortune-teller!
Strengths
The event sparks of people's curiosity. They wonder, whether or not this is real! And they might even find this controversial...I believe that's a strength!
Weaknesses
Fortune-teller: I can foretell that after 50 pendulum sessions your pendulum arm will fall off and your back will ache from bending forward over the table!
Training Template
- You prepare plenty of different leaflets featuring authors writing 'thrillers' and 'comedies' and 'crime stories' and 'relaxing reads' and so on.
- Then you dress up as a fortune-teller, seat yourself inside a mysterious looking tent and ask people to step inside - one by one.
- On a table inside the tent you spread out the different leaflets in a circle. Then you ask your customer to hold his/her hand above one leaflet. You pull out a pendulum and hold it above the hand. If the pendulum starts swinging in a circle, then you have got the wrong leaflet - and if the pendulum starts swinging in a line, then you have found the leaflet offering the mysterious next read. You try this with all leaflets in the circle. If this works, the pendulum should swing in a line over just one leaflet.
- And it works! All you need to do is keep your hand still... Spooky!
- You also need to ask the customer to think of a number between 1 and 10 - this number relates to the author under that same number on the 'chosen' leaflet. Make sure that all leaflets feature exactly ten authors to avoid embarrassment!
Project 2 - 30 seconds - Go!
Aims
- To spark people's curiosity!
- To pull those people into a public display or stall
Where
31st May 2001 At our Reading Lifelines Stall at Golden Square Shopping Centre, Warrington
Target audience
This attracts a wide range of people - young men in particular!
What took place
Grab a stopwatch, a block of paper and a pen. Now come out from behind the stall and walk right up to some people passing by. (Not many will actually come up to you and your stall!) Ask them, if they can guess how long 30 seconds are. Find some catchy phrases and questions, because people will only listen to you for two or three seconds - and after that they might run off - mumbling some pensive excuse!
"Hi there! Want to try our free competition? - It's quick and easy - all you have to do is guess how long 30 seconds are!"
"There's no catch - we're from the local library!"
"And if you're really good, you'll win a book token worth £10!"
"It won't take long!"
Once they are willing to take part bring the people to the stall and have them write down their name and telephone number. Then start the stopwatch and let them time 30 seconds in their mind.
At the end record the result next to their name!
By then most people are fully drawn into the stall and are bound to ask questions about your project - and what else you might have 'on offer'.
Tips, strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
Quick, low level of commitment, immediate and cheap!
Weaknesses
You really need to hone in on the target group - and find the right set of phrases to pull your people in. Otherwise you might grab the attention of the wrong kind of customer.
