The library book cart precision drill team manual /

Libraries, especially public libraries, look for ways to get their public to see them in a new way. In this manual, interested libraries and librarians can find a fun-filled approach that can promote the library, gain new community support, and achieve enthusiasm among staff and patrons. The manual tells how to get started with a book cart drill team, recruit performers, plan performances, and choose and then polish routines. There are choreographic drawings, photographs, stories of nationwide successes, sample applications, and "what we wish we'd known." The volume is worth a read if only to shake up people's thinking about library PR. The surprise will be that most readers will want to try a version in their area. --Patricia Hogan

If CPA briefcase drill teams can do it, why not librarians? In this superneat manual on organizing library book cart drill teams, authors McCracken (adult services manager, Yakima Valley Regional Lib. Syst., WA) and Zeiher (managing branch librarian, Pierce Cty. Lib. Syst., WA) provide a step-by-step guide to planning, equipping, and training something that is sure to delight parade audiences everywhere. Chapters cover how to recruit team members willing to cut a rug, planning the performance, practicing various routines (illustrated with many diagrams) that can be used while pushing the cart and while stationary (in front of parade dignitaries, of course), finding the right festivities in which to perform, decorating and preparing the carts, and creating costumes for the brave volunteers. The sincere effort behind these shenanigans the importance of promoting public libraries clearly drives this one-of-a-kind title. Highly recommended for all public libraries, especially those with large enough staff and Friends groups to field a drill team and impress parade fans. Dale Farris, Groves, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.