What Works-She's Got a Winner

When I was a U.S. history teacher, I frequently found ways to tie current events or seasonal celebrations to the curriculum. In the fall, Columbus Day and Thanksgiving were opportunities to look at Native American perspectives on these holidays, and by Memorial Day in the spring, each student had learned enough about various wars to conduct an interview with a veteran. As a school librarian, I wanted to continue to emphasize the learning possibilities behind holidays, seasons, and cultural topics as a way to generate interest in the library.

But high school students are a jaded lot when it comes to cutesy exhibits or programs that smack of their elementary school days. I needed something that would offer a real challenge and attract the many diverse members of our school community. The answer? Contests. Five years after my first attempt, I now run a popular, ongoing series of "library contests" that has helped both faculty and students view the library as a fun, interesting place to be.

My first contest was on Valentine's Day five years ago. To highlight the theme "I Love Reading," I asked teachers to fill out a brief form (on pink paper, of course) asking for their favorite book when they were in high school and why they enjoyed it. The teachers' names were then cut off, and the slips were mounted on a library counter amid a display of decorative hearts. The students received matching entry forms listing 20 book titles along with the names of the 20 teachers who had submitted them.

The game, of course, required students to match each teacher with his or her favorite book. About 50 students entered, and even some teachers insisted on playing, though only students were eligible to win. It was fun to see the students standing around the display, trying to recognize their teachers' handwriting. They guessed that one of the two people who liked Exodus was a history teacher, but who was the other? They debated who would have listed Native Son or 1984 or Gone With the Wind. At the end of the month, the two students with the most correct matches were declared the winners. A local bookstore was happy to donate two gift certificates for $25 each.

Since that first success, I've run a library contest every few months. Another favorite was "Recommended Books." I simply asked students to fill out a "recommended book" slip on a title they liked, including the author and a short descriptive paragraph. The slips were passed out in our language arts classes and then posted around the library's fiction shelves. We chose one winner based on the quality of the writing and another through a raffle. This was a good way to motivate everybody to participate, regardless of writing skill.

Thanks to the recommended book slips, I learned that many students were reading adult titles, such as In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, and The Wedding by Dorothy West. We now have multiple copies of each, and they circulate often.

Over the years, I've found that the key to a successful contest is that it has to be challenging but not too challenging and fun. For Black History Month and Women's History Month, I posted photos of notable Americans from each group, and asked students to identify as many people as they could. I've run other contests that involved completing a puzzle on banned books, filling out a trivia quiz about the city of Seattle, and choosing the most important events of the 20th century.

For each of these contests, I've been lucky to find local businesses willing to donate gift certificates. Stores that sell books, music, or fast food are popular with young adults, and I offer a bit of advertising to the donors by mentioning their contribution in contest entry blanks and promotions. I use the school's daily newsletter to advertise the games, along with a pair of display cases outside the library doors.

Thanks in part to these contests, many students now come to the library even when they don't have a class here or an assignment. And it definitely was gratifying last spring to have several students come in and ask me what the next contest was going to be about. I'm still not sure myself. I'm thinking about a contest to submit the best idea for a contest.