Prom Madness
Dodie Ownes -- School Library Journal, 3/18/2009
Did you know that the institution we now call “prom” began in the late 19th century? Prom is actually the shortened form of promenade, which was basically a parade of guests held at the start of a formal event or celebration. Prom has become a more lavish affair recently, and to help high school students (and their parents) on tight budgets, libraries are finding a multitude of ways to serve their communities.Sweet Seconds Prom Dress Swap
“The idea to hold this event was inspired by a friend’s daughter who collected dresses for a similar event for National Honor Society. At the library we have been hearing about more and more people losing their jobs, their homes, etc. It just seemed like the perfect thing to do in light of these economic times,” says Stephenie Acosta, manager at the Howell branch of the Monmouth County Library in New Jersey. Originally, Acosta and teen librarian Veronica Stevens thought that girls would be have to swap one prom dress for another, but because of the overwhelming enthusiasm and generosity of the community, so many donations were received there were plenty of dresses to choose from.The event was open to anyone, not just “Howell” girls. “We went to the surrounding areas and dropped off posters (above) to the high schools. We followed up with phone calls to make sure the word was getting out,” says Acosta, “and made it clear that this event is open to anyone who wants and needs a dress.” Sorting, sizing, and storing the dresses posed the biggest challenges, but by the day of the event, Howell was home to more than 80 formal and 20 semi-formal dresses.
Dressing room space was created by Acosta herself. “While researching a cheap way to make a stage, I came across a Website that showed how to make a backdrop out of PVC pipe. I just used that concept to make the dressing rooms. It was cheap, and easy to make and store,” she reports.
With 45 girls registered, Acosta and Stevens and seven volunteers hoped for organized chaos on March 7, the day of the event. “There were really only two rules that I insisted on,” says Acosta. “First, they could only take two dresses into the dressing room at a time. Secondly, if they found a dress that they were going to take home, I had to have a picture of them in it. One of our volunteers, Alyssa Jagusch, is heading to the School of Visual Arts for photography and she graciously took the photos for the swap. The Friends of the Howell library assisted in the management of the dressing rooms and returning the dresses back to the racks.” At the end of the four-hour Sweet Seconds event, 34 dresses were on their way to the prom. Volunteer Kelly Rochford models her prom dress pick, left.“This was an incredible feel-good event for everyone involved,” adds Acosta. “We definitely plan to do it again. The fashionista came out of me, and the parents felt good about being able to find dresses for their girls. I’m even thinking about opening up the dress closet for a Halloween costume event in the fall. We have these dresses, so let’s use them!”
Prom Dress Exchange
Livonia Public Library in Michigan hosted its second Prom Dress Exchange this spring. Teen librarian Patty Goonis heard many moms say how great the program was (“while the girls were out of the room”), especially since many parents had lost their jobs. Like Acosta, Goonis was initially concerned about having enough dresses, but the donations poured in. Unexpected help arrived one morning when a local seamstress, Dawn Kilyanek, walked in the door and asked to be put to work. “After the program’s success last fall, we decided to make our inventory of 100 dresses available for any occasion,” states Goonis. “We had a girl contact us who was a part of the homecoming court here at Stevenson High School and desperately needed a dress, and we were able to help her.” Shopping for dresses online is possible due to the inventory being featured at the Livonia Library Prom Dress Exchange's photostream.
Good support is essential. Goonis relies on her Teen Advisory Council president, Samantha Horsell, who attends Mercy High School, to help with marketing. Another helper, Kayla Morgan, got the word out at Thurston High School. “Besides being fun and economical,”says Goonis, ”I think the Prom Dress Exchange appeals to green teens, too—the whole reduce, reuse, recycle issue. And next year, I’d like to add boy’s formal wear as well. Now, if I could just find some permanent storage....”
Prom Closet
Now in its fifth year, the Cypress, Texas, Lone Star College-Cy-Fair (LSC-CF) Branch Library’s Prom Closet expects to outfit close to 200 students with prom dresses during March and April. LSC-CF Friends of the Library President Nancy Flanakin and teen librarian Elise Sheppard started the program in 2004 by soliciting the community, even placing a mannequin in a prom dress in the lobby of the library to help encourage donations. Local publicity took off, and with the support of the local college, which provides storage and the use of a room, LSC-CF now has an inventory of more than 800 dresses and tons of accessories. The Prom Closet partners with five social workers who work with teens in need in the Harris County, and each year, Flanakin says there are more and more grateful parents and friends.“No matter how many hours of work volunteers and staff put in, it’s always more than repaid by the smiles of the girls,” she says. Many of these kids are from the inner city and some have never even owned a dress. Imagine their delight in finding out that their prom gown is a
Vera Wang!” Ongoing donations have not been a problem. “One local resale shop routinely brings us boxes of dresses for our girls, and last year, Dillard’s department store donated 20 top-quality men’s suits that allowed us to outfit 10 boys for prom,” states Flanakin, “as well as for future job interviews.” In fact, LSC-CF has inventory enough to share. When a college student from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, heard about the Prom Closet, she contacted the library to get ideas on how to run her own program. “I just sent off a big box of dresses to get her started,” says Flanakin.
100 Dress Prom Dress Boutique
Galesburg Public Library in Illinois is hosting its first prom dress swap on March 21. Kari Smith, young adult/adult services librarian, began collecting dresses in 2008. “We used radio, flyers, newspaper articles, anything we could to get the word out,” states Smith, “and quickly amassed 100 dresses. Thank goodness a bank a half a block away offered us free storage space!” To help promote the 100 Dress Prom Dress Boutique, two of Smith’s Teen Advisory Board members will be wearing prom dresses to school in the coming weeks as “walking billboards.”
Other Prom Programs
Houston Public Library is hosting a series of events for teens entitled
Prepping and Perfecting Your Prom. Kicking off with a session called “Flip Flops” (“for when your little tootsies start to hurt”)—and wrapping up with “The Make-Up” (“How are you going to make the perfect smokey eye?”)—the programs have been well 
attended. Teen librarian Robyn Hernandez says she put together this first-time series partly in response to a lack of girls “using our phenomenal teen space at Central. We feature all kinds of technology and gaming opportunities, but just weren’t seeing as many girls come in as I’d like.” Flip Flops had 20 attendees, and another event, Corsage, held on March 14, attracted 17 girls, numbers that make Hernandez happy.Two Davis County (UT) Library branches put on Prom-a-Rama events, featuring a fashion show sponsored by Men's Wearhouse, which included tuxedos and dresses, as well as a cooking demonstration by local culinary students, tips on flower arrangements and hair styles from local businesses, makeup advice from Mary Kay consultants, and dance lessons from local dance teachers. A book display with items about prom, dancing, and dating were also made available for checkout.
