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I don’t always say it but it does happen and I’ll freely admit it here. I may have been wrong about Book Trailers.
The first few I saw were uninspiring. They were filled with strange voiceovers narrating a synopsis with shadowy figures and bland tracking music. I also did not get how these would work. How would people see them? Find them? Are they suppose to build anticipation with established fan bases or introduce new works to new audiences? All around it was a head-scratching, no thank you on my part.
I now give Exhibits A, B, and C that prove how wrong I was.
Exhibit A
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/28931
Created by one of my favorite blogger, Ransom Riggs over at Mental Floss, it was on point. It captured the book’s appeal, the charm of Austen mixed with crazy B-movie monster action. How better to explain that than in video format. Sure that’s the point of the book trailer but this is the first time I saw how well it could work.
Exhibit B
This one came out a few months back and I was floored. Not only did it include great graphics and animation (yeah steampunk!) but the voiceover worked! There is a real sense of drama and urgency about the story being described. It fits the time period as well as the new world Westerfeld created. I already loved him for the Uglies series but now my esteem has been taken to a higher level which is another result of a well made Book Trailer.
Exhibit C
http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/comments/friday-videos-know-whats-next/
Let me introduce you to another author who is now on my must-always-read-list, Maggie Stiefvater. I read Shiver and enjoyed it (thank you ALA!) but after this video I have to check out her other book. I liked Shiver but I was always saying because “werewolves are the new vampires.” I put it in the Twilight category of YA supernatural romance. Quick read, impossible love, mythological creature. Well written for sure but that’s where I put it in my mental file folder. Talk about being put in my place. The Holly Hobbyness of the production, the gentle mocking of the genre, the animation… I cried with laughter. People thought I was having a fit for trying to hold it in. I love how the author is promoting her material in a unique and engaging way.
As better products come out I’m willing to change my opinion on Book Trailers but I still have to wonder, besides sitting around and admiring them for their cleverness, does this work? Where are they placed to be viewed for maximum exposure? And bringing it all back to me, how can libraries use this model to promote their services and programs? Are we clever and engaging with our promotion material? Where can we place ourselves to be seen and enjoyed by our community?
I have this friend. We’ll call her Angie because that’s her name. Angie recently ventured into her local public branch library. YEH for Angie! She later confessed being intimidated by the experience. Nothing terrible happened, she wasn’t shushed out of the building. She simply didn’t know how to navigate the library. She didn’t know who to ask her questions, what computers to search the catalog with or where to find her book. My friend Angie can talk to anyone, be in any situation and be confident and fabulous. Seriously, I can leave her for a minute and come back and she’s already talking to someone. So I find it very curious that the library would throw her off so much.
I walk into any library and feel right at home. Sure each one is unique like beautiful snowflakes (insert s
norting noise here) but libraries tend to have similar areas with similar functions. Working in one and utilizing many, I know the drill, ref desk for questions, circ desk to check out, phone calls taken outside. For the general population though, outside of school, how familiar are they with the basic layout and function of the library? It doesn’t help that there are specialized areas, staffed by specialized people, called by terms that are not commonly used outside of the field. So how do our patrons know what to do? Where to go? Who to talk to?
What my friend does know and myself as well, is retail. Yes a dirty word, but the retail model is more familiar to people in their 30’s and 20’s. We’re the mall culture. New stuff up front on pretty displays and a greeter to tell you about the sales, staff walking the floors and fixing displays, registers conveniently located for browsing in the back. My friend likes that set up too, besides being comfortable with it. So do I. Take for example the big B bookstore I used to work at (yes, I played for the other team once). Many hours were spent on where things went. There were the integrated endcaps with the movie, the book tie-in cover, the board game and some CDs for good measure. There was the placement of the bestseller table, the new fiction bays, the staff recommendation endcap. As my friend said, it is visually pleasing. And she made another point. Why can’t libraries be like that? What experience do we offer our users, patrons and clients? Why can’t you ask anyone with a name badge your question? Why do we call it the circulation desk when it’s the checkout? Do our practices benefit us or them?
While asking these questions I also recognize that libraries should not be copies of big retail stores. We offer services that retail has no interest outside of selling another item. I strongly believe though we need to look closely at what makes sense or what we do because it’s always been done that way. There is no lamer phrase than “we’ve always done it this way” and it means nothing.
I wonder how many other people, like my friend, avoid the library because they don’t know how it works or they associate it with school? How far do we have to go to change perceptions and how far should we go? At what point are we just talking to ourselves?
Just wanted to share this with ya’ll.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136961
A great article in Newsweek by Jamie Reno called “Generation R (R Is for Reader)” about the resurgence of YA Lit and its role in YAers lives. What most struck me was David Levithan’s (author of one of my favs, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, soon to be movie) comments about teen books as apart of pop culture with TV, movies and videogames. Look at Gossip Girl, Harry Potter and the slew of the fantasy/adventure movies that have come out/are still coming out/optioned to come out on film. Eragon, The Dark is Rising (alternately known by the ridiculous title The Seeker), Twilight, City of Ember. And these aren’t small productions either. On the lower end Hannah Montana has her own series of books that tie to the TV show. So although the article lays out the premise of YA Lit being popular is surprising, it really isn’t.
What is surprising is how libraries haven’t overwhelmingly gotten on the YA mothership. There are great programs out there like Los Angeles PL’s Teen’Scape with it’s overwhelmingly awesome website (http://www.lapl.org/ya/) and gorgeous space dedicated to teens. But then there is Michael Casey and Michael Stephen’s recent article in Library Journal “Embracing Service to Teens” (http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6556178.html) . Stephens has been following the story of Mishawaka PL which has banned MySpace and Facebook in response to teen behavior issues. It’s troubling to me because many people still see teens as troublemakers and rule breakers. Libraries should be welcoming places for everyone of all ages. We’ve gotten very good at programing for youngsters, storytimes and the like. But what are we doing to keep those readers past preschool? Elementary? Junior High? High School? As more libraries look to gaming and graphic novels there is beginning to be a trend towards getting the YAers in the library at any cost. It’s a trend that’s starting in places like LA, Oak Park IL and other places that I hope to see continue and become a standard for libraries.
