How I Reached New People By Having a Poetry Open Mic in the Library
Poem in Your Pocket Day was a bit hit. For me, it was a great way to introduce the School Library that I manage to new teens and teachers.
The concept was pretty simple. The Library Assistant and I found a ton of cool poems that were around five or six lines long. Then we printed them onto due date slips and slapped the #pocketpoem hashtag on the bottom.
The poems were rolled up and placed in the teachers’ pigeonholes a week or so before the event.
All 160 of them. Yes, it took a long time. Yes the Library Assistant probably thinks I’m insane. Yes, I probably am, but it was worth it. It always is.
Teachers find these mysterious rolled up poems and a lot of them, especially new ones, are most likely thinking, “WTH?”
It’s not until I explain things a few days later that they’re in the loop: Their job is to memorize their poem and perform it during our “Open Mic” in the library.
Sure, not every teacher comes to the library to perform. However, it makes my day to hear teachers say “That poem was great”, or “I really needed that today!” All of which I have heard over the past few weeks.
And for the teachers who do show up to perform, they’re awesome.
There is nothing a student likes more than to see one of their teachers in a setting other than the classroom. Here they are, in the library performing poetry. It’s exciting and engaging and I get to connect with teachers that I don’t get to see very often because they are so ridiculously busy.
How do I get students to perform, you ask?
That’s easy, all I need to do is to let them know that they can do the following: Eat in the library and have their voices amplified. I also let them do original material. They can tell jokes, they can play an instrument, whatever, the floor is theirs.
It brings in students that I typically don’t see, which is the point. Maybe they’ll come back for another program, maybe I’ll be able to get them reading a new author and get them hooked. it’s part of the book-pusher’s plan.
If you’re a school or public librarian I recommend an open mic program. It doesn’t have to be poetry, let them do their own thing. Give them a voice and they’ll give you their time in the library, which is what being a librarian is all about.