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Each
August, before Californians settle back into school
and work routines, they flood to the California
State Fair in Sacramento to experience everything
from livestock shows to Midway rides and fried
Twinkies. One of the most popular State Fair draws
is the California County exhibits, alluring,
information-rich booths in air-conditioned
buildings.
This
year, the Contra
Costa County Library hosted Contra Costa
County’s booth. It was an unprecedented
opportunity for a California library to promote
library services to thousands of State Fair
visitors. And it was, it turns out, a winning
effort. On the fair’s first day Contra Costa
County’s booth received the state fair’s silver
medal.
Anne
Cain, Contra Costa County Library County Librarian,
says, "We were excited at the chance to
highlight the importance of literacy, reading and
library services in Contra Costa County at this
bustling statewide event. That the booth won a
silver medal is testimony to the professional
ingenuity and hard work of everyone on the Contra
Costa County Library team!”
A
group that included Contra Costa library staff, a
representative from Contra Costa’s arts
commission, local TV news staff, and a professional
exhibit consultant met just six-weeks before the
fair’s opening day to brainstorm how the library
could connect to this year’s fair theme, “Beach
Party!” Thinking “beach,” the group landed on
“beach reading” and the booth design was born.
“Good summer reading from the library” became
the platform from which Contra Costa would
illustrate its library and literacy services to fair
visitors.
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Hang
glider floats above Contra Costa County Library booth.
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Flying
over the booth was a Harry Potter-like hang-glider
holding a sign that said “Contra Costa County:
Libraries take you where you want to go!” A huge
lemonade, stacks of 6x10 foot books (whose spines
boast Muir and Steinbeck) reflecting Contra Costa
history, and a blown-up “To Do” scroll, at the
top of which is “Go to library!” perched near an
oversized Adirondack chair. More six-foot books
around the booth had “pages” of simple text on
library services. An oversize laptop (a television)
ran a continuous Power Point presentation
highlighting electronic library resources such as
GALE databases, Learning Express, and Americas
Newspapers.
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Promoting
literacy services at the California State Fair.
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The
booth enabled visitors to learn about staggering
literacy statistics (low literacy skills cost the
U.S. $73 billion in increased healthcare; literacy
problems cost U.S. companies $16 billion annually in
lost productivity) and about Project 2nd Chance,
the library’s adult literacy program for learners
16 years and older.
The
Contra Costa County Library booth at the California
State Fair animatedly and winningly showed thousands
of visitors from all over the state that the local
library is a fun, compassionate, culturally rich and
technologically advanced place where all are
welcome.
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