Erica Littlefield, youth services supervisor, Twin Falls (ID) Public Library
December 7, 2011
You know it's a good day at work when you get pie thrown in your face.
That's exactly what happened to me on November 4 at our library, the Twin Falls Public Library in Idaho. This fall we held a Teen Reading Challenge, and at the end of the challenge I got two pies shoved in my face. Believe it or not, it was truly one of my favorite days at this job, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
One of the first things people ask me when I tell them about getting "pied" is, "Whose brilliant idea was that?" I surprise them when I tell them it was actually mine. After our summer reading program was over, I wanted to come up with a challenge that would keep our teens reading. I thought that one surefire way to get them motivated was to tell them I'd do something outrageous if they reached our reading goal. I went through several options in my head-dunk tank, staying on the roof all day, getting duct taped to a wall, etc. After talking it over with some of our regular teen patrons, I settled on getting pies in the face.
Teen Reading Challenge Reviews on a cork board in our teen room
Thus, the Teen Reading Challenge was born. It started on August 29 and was open to anyone in grades 6to 12. For every book they read, teens would fill out a Teen Reading Challenge Review. The reviews were very simple to complete. Teens simply filled in the name of the book, circled whether they hated it, liked it, or loved it, and wrote a few sentences about why. I told the teens that if we got 250 reviews turned in by November 3, I would get 10 pies thrown in my face at a teen party at the library. To sweeten the deal, for every five reviews a teen turned in, their name got put in a drawing to be one of the lucky ones to throw a pie at me.
The contest started out well. The teens loved the idea, and they rushed to turn in reviews. We even got some attention from the local media. But then things started to taper off. In the end, we didn't reach the goal of 250 reviews. Even though the goal wasn't met, I wanted to hold up my end of the bargain to show the teens that I was serious about encouraging them to read. I told them I would still go through with it, but with two pies instead of 10.
David holds the first pie of the night. Looking at all those colors of frosting made me a little nervous…
The day of reckoning came. We held a teen after-hours party at the library on the night of November 4. At the beginning of the party, I put the name of everyone who'd submitted reviews in a basket and drew out the first lucky name: David, one of our teen regulars. David felt bad about shoving the pie in my face and didn't want to do it alone, so two of my coworkers joined in as well. I filled a pie plate with whipped cream, and let them go to town decorating the pie with sprinkles and gel frosting. The people in the audience gave them a countdown, and they mashed a pie into my face. The crowd went nuts. In case you're wondering, yes, getting a pie in the face is just as sticky and messy as you'd expect. It even splattered on the wall and the floor behind me.
Slowly but surely the whipped cream and frosting came off, and I started to look like myself again. Being a librarian isn’t necessarily a glamorous job, but it sure is fun!
Later on that night, the local television station KMVT came to do a story on the challenge. We drew a name for someone to throw the second pie. After teens Kelsey, Molly, and Alex decorated another crazy, multicolored pie, I got "pied" again. Of course, KMVT caught the whole thing on camera. The teens loved being on television, and I really appreciated that KMVT was supportive of our effort to get teens to read.
This all boils down to one important point: I'm not afraid to do something wild or silly to encourage people to read or to come to the library. And even though we fell short of our reading goal, I still think the program was a success. I believe that if even one person shows up for a program and has a good time or learns something, then it's worth it. People ask me when we'll do another Teen Reading Challenge and what crazy stunt I'll do next time. I tell them I'm open to suggestions, just as long as it doesn't involve pie. I'm still getting the sprinkles out of my hair....
This article originally appeared in School Library Journal's enewsletter SLJTeen. Subscribe here.
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