2012 YALSA/Dollar General Teen Read Week Grant

for an Outstanding Teen Read Week Activity for Teens

Application for Novi Public Library Written and submitted by Elizabeth Schulhoff

Novi Public Library Population Overview The community served by Novi Public Library is diverse and energetic. We serve a population of 55,374. Of that group, 28,731 had registered for a library card as of 2011, so we would like to continue promoting our services to the rest of Novi. The city has over 3,000 teenagers, so there is a large population to reach. Our general programs bring in 24,858 people annually, but our program for teens is only just beginning to gain popularity. Two high school students serving as Youth Representatives on the Library Board, and we have recently organized a Teen Advisory Board. Our challenges with teen programming are that the teens that we have are such a diverse group. Our facility is located directly behind the public high school, but many teens in Novi attend private schools around the area. While the Novi High School students often flock to the library after school, it is not as convenient for the private school students, so we are working on recruiting them to more events. Also, Novi has a high immigrant population (9,895 people according to the 2010 US Census), so in addition to the cliques and groups that teens typically form, there are also cultural differences that prevent intermingling. We hope to offer programs that are appealing to youth crossculturally, and we believe that Teen Read Week is a wonderful opportunity for this. Proposed Activity In order to appeal to the widest number of teens in the community, I propose that Novi Public Library kicks off Teen Read Week with an Apocalypse Party. This years theme of It Came from the Library and the near-Halloween timing makes it a good fit, and the popularity of speculations about the end of the Mayan calendar this year as well as the world-wide phenomenon of Zombie Walks make it a good choice for attracting teens in the community. The event will encourage teens to read for fun by reminding them that many of their favorite zombie movies and television shows are based on novels and comic books. Survival guides, poetry books and instruction books on how to make zombie crafts, food and make-up will also be utilized and advertised through the event. Many of these items are already available through the libraries in The Library Network, so this event will not only publicize Teen Read Week but also promote materials that the library already offers. The Apocalypse Party would be an event held in our largest meeting room where teens could come dressed as zombies or use the craft materials and instructions provided to make their own costumes. Along with competitions for Best Dressed, Best Zombie Walk, Fastest Brain-Eating (made of Jell-o) and Best Zombie Poem (made with a Zombie Magnetic Poetry kit), the library would also offer one main event: a trivia competition based on Max Brooks popular The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead. Teens could learn to do the Thriller dance and make zombie cubees to bring home. And, of course, there would be zombie-themed food. Rationale for an Apocalypse Party As previously mentioned, zombies are popular cross-culturally. Offering a zombie-themed party will appeal to a broad spectrum of the teens in our community, hopefully encouraging teens who do not currently utilize the library to attend the program. The activities that we will offer will also have broad appeal: teens who are artistically inclined can work on crafts and enter the poetry competition; teens who are experts on zombie survival techniques can impress their friends during the trivia competition; teens who may not be comfortable entering the competitions can stop by, eat some snacks and hopefully check out a book or two. Also, every teen who attends will be automatically entered into a raffle to win sets of four pins with funny zombie pictures on them. All of these factors should appeal to a large majority of the teens in the community, and we hope to see a new record set for attendance at an NPL teen event.

Measuring Success Since the main goal for the library is to attract teens who do not currently use the library, the biggest measure of success will be attendance by teens who have never attended a library event before. When teens arrive, they will fill out a quick form to be entered into the raffle. The form will include the standard blank for the teens name and school name, and then two additional questions will be asked: 1. Do you have a library card? YES NO 2. Have you attended any library events before? YES NO Novi Public Library will consider the event a success if at least 15 of the people attending have never attended an event at the library before. We will plan for at least 50 people in attendance, but we will hope for closer to 100 considering the large population of teens in the area and the broad appeal of zombies, especially right before Halloween. Since this event is designed to kick off Teen Read Week, we would also like to see an increase in circulation following the event. Many of the books that will be on display have been available through the other libraries in the Library Network, but with new copies specifically for the NPL collection available to check out the night of the event, it will be important to see if the books are more popular after all of the promotion throughout the event. Even if we do not meet the goals for new teen patrons, the event will be a success if at least ten zombie-related items are checked out during Teen Read Week. Budgetary Needs The $1,000 would allow us to add 13 items to our collection and put on an event that will attract teens throughout the community. A complete budgetary breakdown is available on the next page. We would love to be able to offer our patrons access to popular books, comic books and movies that relate to our theme, and the grant would allow us to do just that. It would also allow us to have competitions at the event and give prizes to winners, which will encourage participation. Most of the prizes are books, which fits in with the purpose of Teen Read Week: to encourage teens to read for the fun of it. Overall, the grant would allow us to put on a successful event and hopefully increase patronage by teens in the future.

Apocalypse Party Budget

Timeline September 28th - Ensure the Full Meeting Room is booked for the party on October 13th. The room can be reserved by the public starting on September 29th, so this deadline is crucial. - Contact administrators at local high schools to gain permission to publicize event through posters on their campuses. Also inquire as to the possibility of advertising through radio/news programs at each school. - Print posters. - Put up posters around NPL. - Add advertisement to the scrolling information screens around NPL. October 1st - Put up posters at local high schools if approved by school administrators. - Speak with the heads of the radio/news programs at the local schools (if approved by school administrators) and arrange date to submit advertisement/press release. - Begin reviewing The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks in order to create trivia questions for the competition. - Order/purchase all approved items (except perishable food) from the budget. Since most items will be ordered online, this will ensure they arrive in plenty of time. October 8th - Determine criteria for winners of each competition. - Ask staff if anyone would like to volunteer to give Thriller dance tutorials at the party. October 9th - Print cubee templates on cardstock. - Follow up with school media programs to determine whether they need any additional information from NPL about the event in order to advertise it. October 10th - Make examples of t-shirts and cubees to display on tables. Revise instructions if needed. - Print out finalized instructions to be available at the craft stations. - Finalize trivia questions for the trivia competition. October 11th - Purchase any perishable food items. - Do a trial run of all food, and prepare all of the candies and Jell-o brains. October 12th - Ensure that every staff member knows what his/her responsibilities are during the set-up, the party and the tear-down for the event. October 13th - Decorate and arrange tables/seating in meeting room. - Set up materials displays, craft tables and food tables. - Make and refrigerate the punch. - Make the intestines and finger food so that they will be warm when teens begin to arrive at 7:30 pm. - Prepare sound system so that Thriller can be played for dance tutorial. - Throw an amazing Apocalypse Party! - Clean up after the final teens leave, and arrange the room for its next use. October 14th 20th - Evaluate the success of the party based on attendance, the forms filled out by the teens and circulation records. Present findings to the rest of the staff at the next staff meeting and discuss ways to improve for next year.

Task Assignments As the coordinator for this event, I would be responsible for the majority of the tasks in the aforementioned schedule. I would have the final say on all promotional materials and would be the goto person for the event in case anyone had questions or concerns. I would also be the contact person for the event, so I would reach out to the local schools and set up advertisement opportunities. I would order all of the materials approved from the budget. I would also determine the criteria for winners of the competitions during the event. Another YA staff member would be responsible for designing more flyers, advertisements for school radio/news broadcasts, a press release and a slide for the screens around NPL. That same staff member would also be entirely in charge of crafts: printing the cubee templates, making examples of the cubees and t-shirts and printing out copies of instructional guides to put on the tables. Two general staff members who are great in the kitchen would be responsible for the food items. This would include a trial run to ensure that the recipes are good as well as making the food for the actual event. These staff members would be the ones setting up the food tables and replenishing as needed throughout the night. I would ask for a staff member who is comfortable dancing to give Thriller dance tutorials during the event. Additionally, this person would help with set-up and tear-down. Custodial staff would also help with arranging the room and tearing it down after the event. We would need additional staff to assist with supervision at the event as well as giving out prizes and ensuring that all teens are registering for the raffle. These staff members would be the remaining members of the Youth Department staff. Materials to be Displayed Austin, J. (2010). So now youre a zombie: A handbook for the newly undead. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review Press. Zombiologist John Austin gives the newly undead all the information that is needed to survive as zombies. New zombies will learn how they became undead and what they have to look forward to now that they are not alive, and tips for how to adjust to their new lifestyle. This humorous guide will make readers laugh while they learn important information in case of a zombie outbreak. Brooks, M. (2003). The zombie survival guide: Complete protection from the living dead. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press. Unlike John Austins guide, this book is intended for the living. Max Brooks has established himself as the ultimate authority on zombies, and this guidebook is required reading for anyone interested in zombies. With tips that are easy to remember (3. Use your head: cut off theirs.), this book is an example of how education can still be entertaining. Brooks, M. (2009). The zombie survival guide: Recorded attacks. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press. Brooks follow-up to his cult classic survival guide, this graphic novel provides information and entertainment just like the original. The pictures will captivate readers (and possibly frighten/disgust them, too), and Brooks reminds readers of the importance of learning from the past by returning to zombie outbreaks throughout history and around the world. Cook, N. (2011). Alice in Zombieland. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks. Think you know the story of Alice? Think again. This retelling capitalizes on the grotesque and horrifying lesser-known aspects of the classic tale. Although this may not be the version to read children before bed, readers will delight in the dark humor of this book.

Fischer, R. (2011). Zombies dont cry. Aurora, IL: Medallion Press. Well-written characters make this story one worth reading. This book is part realistic fiction, part scifi horror. Mostly, though, it is a book about what it would really be like to be a teenage zombie. Hockensmith, S. (2011). Pride and prejudice and zombies. Philadelphia, PA: Quirk Books. Another classic turned on its head by the zombie apocalypse, this book is a great read for Austen lovers and haters alike. No longer just a story about love and stubbornness, this tale follows a young woman determined to defeat the onslaught of zombies in her area. Love is of course still a factor, but the tongue-in-cheek retelling makes for an entirely new read despite the preservation of a large majority of the original work. Kirkman, R. (2011). The walking dead: The Complete First Season. Beverly Hills, CA: Anchor Bay Entertainment. This television series (and the graphic novels that inspired it) are likely what first come to mind when people think about the popularity of zombies. A sheriffs deputy wakes from a coma to discover that the world he knows has been turned upside-down by a zombie epidemic. The show follows him and a band of survivors trying to make their way through the new world. Marion, I. (2011). Warm bodies. New York, NY: Atria Books. Few people read zombie stories looking to feel emotionally invested in the characters. It is impossible not to in this book, though, which follows the story of a zombie who decides to protect a girl he learns about through the memories of a boy whose brain he has consumed. In turns strange and funny and moving, this book will be hard to forget. Mecum, R. (2008). Zombie haiku. Cincinnati, OH: HOW Books. Zombie-lovers who are not as fond of poetry will become quick converts after reading this collection. The book has a narrative line about a man who is eventually bitten by a zombie, and readers will relish in the graphic language Mecum masters in only the few syllables allowed by haiku form. Murphy, D. (2009). Zombies for zombies: Advice and etiquette for the living dead. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks. Written like a For Dummies guidebook, this book will have readers laughing out loud at the hilarious advice for the undead. Every aspect of day-to-day life is covered in this book, and each piece of advice is just as funny as the next. Not just a book to read, this is one to put on your shelves and bring out at parties. Nyugen, D. (2011O. Zombigami: Paper folding for the living dead. New York, NY: Sterling Publishing. This book includes patterns for thirteen zombies as well as a supply of origami paper and a poster of the finished products. Perfect for Halloween decoration, this book is a fun way to get hands-on with much less danger (although beware papercuts!). Marketing The next page shows one of the posters that would be displayed around the library and at local high schools.