If this time of year has you in the mood for love, you’re not alone! Libraries across the state are celebrating Valentine’s Day with Book Blind Dates–a way to step outside your comfort zone with an unknown title that will hopefully have you falling head-over-heels with a new author or genre. Hear what some NJ libraries are doing to make love connections for their patrons, and find out where you can head to get matched with your own book true love this V-Day!
All nine branches of the Mercer County Library System will be participating in Blind Date with a Book this year! Says Dana Benner, Social Media & Marketing Librarian, “We pulled books from both nonfiction and fiction collections, including science fiction, literary fiction, historical fiction, mysteries, thrillers, and biographies.” Reads are enticed by teasers on the wrapped cover. Patrons are going crazy for their mysterious titles. “So far patrons have been loving our displays and the idea of the program!”
Library-themed conversation hearts spark up this display from the Mercer County Library System.
For the second year in a row, the Metuchen Public Library will be offering its teen patrons the chance for romance with a book blind date. Teens get involved at every part of the process: Teen Librarian Moira Whittington has her Teen Advisory Board pick the titles that will be wrapped, displayed, and eventually chosen. To help guide their choices, each hbook has a short blurb on the front of the book. Patrons can end up with a fiction book, a nonfiction book, a graphic novel, or even a new book for their date!
Metuchen’s blind date with a book display gets the Teen Advisory Board involved with choosing titles and decorating the covers with short and catchy teasers.
When Jes Schneider, Teen Librarian at the East Brunswick Public Library, started doing “Blind Date with a Book” three years ago, she saw an opportunity for her Teen Action Group to turn this project into a community service activity. Books from the adult, young adult, and children’s collections were wrapped, and teens wrote teasers on the front to entice potential dates. After reading their blind-date selection, patrons used the “Rate Your Date” cards to let the librarians know if they’d go on a second date and try a similar book next time they came into the library
In 2016, Jes took it one step further with a Book Dating Game. Patrons would approach a table at the front of the library, where a teen volunteer was sitting with three wrapped books. Patrons were given three questions to ask of their prospective book dates, and teens prepared answers to match each book. At the end of the game, patrons would choose a book to bring home with them.
Teen Volunteers at the East Brunswick Public Library entice a patron to play the Book Dating Game.
Adults can also find titles to fall for this year at the Lincoln Park Public Library. Books are wrapped in red paper and paired with a pick-up line meant to steal the heart of a passerby. The flashy red paper covers adult fiction and hopes to draw readers in–especially since this is the first time the Lincoln Park Public Library has offered this program.
