SEC: Literary Cafe outcome

[Vicki Sherouse <sherouse@MARSWEB.COM>]

Many asked for a reply about how my Library Literary Cafe turned out.  It
really was great.  I was extremely proud of our students, who even when they
couldn't hear or the poems were over their heads, still stayed quiet and
polite.  I intend to visit each class tomorrow and tell them how great they
were.

What I Learned:
    We did get newspaper coverage--largely I think because NEA had sent the
paper a press kit with lot of facts about reading, etc.
    Poets are difficult for kids to follow--know what they will read and
have copies for kids in advance
    Have a microphone--it was hard for the authors to read and also project
    Have a lectern
    Have coffee and water available for speakers
    Have a person designated to meet speaker in office and bring to library,
and someone to take pictures
    Have the teachers prepare the kids in advance--maybe show them the
books, read some of their poetry, talk about questions they might ask
        the authors after the readings
    The oral interpretations by our speech team were fabulous and the kids
loved them
    The skits our Drama 1 students prepared based on Dr. Seuss books were
also great
    At the last minute I bought little pots of primroses for the
tables--that added a lot of atmosphere
    The pastries sold well, but I needed to charge a little more.  Next time
I will ask for a discount when I buy them.  You are going to be stuck with
some
         leftovers that didn't sell which you have to eat.
    Having the coffee cart and pastries was really important for the
atmosphere
    Keep the readings and questions to about 25-30 minutes
    We had the following book displays set up:  Survival, Student
Recommendations, Teacher Recommendations, How to Write and Publish,
Contemporary
        Poetry, Local Authors, Books for the College Bound, Mysteries to Die
For
    Not many of the display books actually got checked out--but they did get
looked at and we will leave up a few more days
    The local authors were happy to come and thought it a great idea--and
would come again
     Next time I will also invite students who have submitted to our
literary magazine to read their own works
    You will be stressed out and sleep 12 hours straight when it is finally
over!!!!!!!!!!!!


Vicki Sherouse, Librarian
Sentinel High School
Missoula, Montana
sherouse@marsweb.com

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