Why I’m not a morning person: the tendency to awaken with sudden realization of yesterday’s missteps.
The first conscious thought the day after our Book Buzz event: Robert–our Penguin Random House rep and speaker–hadn’t been supplied with a bottle of water and probably hadn’t been urged to partake of the appetizers and cheesecake we served. This is no way to treat someone who drove miles to get here, provided book bags and galley copies for a crowd, and did a great job talking up forthcoming books. But our unusual task completely preoccupied us.
When Robert arrived, the four of us were decanting platters of gourmet appetizers just delivered by the caterer. Beholding the elegance of the hors d’ oeuvres, we joked about the rarity of the experience (and indeed of an occasion to say “hors d’ oeuvres”). For us, fancy catering resides squarely in the Not Part of My Life category. We devised serving patterns, juggled trays, and dispensed goodies while Robert shared publishing back stories and plot hooks with the mocktail-sipping audience.
Ultimately, the food and presentation got rave reviews–and we avoided lobbing pesto-coated mozzarella skewers onto anyone’s favorite jacket or shoes. Knowing the hazards of food service, we invited guests to pick up their own beverages.
The advantage of using reference librarians for wait staff is that, should spillage occur, we’d know where to find the best stain removal tips. But without Friends of the Round Rock Public Library we’d have had no such worries. We’d also have had no refreshments.
As one library patron commented, “Children’s programs are very important–I get that. But we grownups like to have our share of the attention, too.” With this in mind, and given attendee swag from Penguin Random House, we shared our vision of a memorable adult event with the Friends group. They furnished the money for the rare catering treat.
In recent years, Friends of RRPL has funded summer reading program prizes (really good ones), a staff appreciation event, hired presenters for children’s programs, extra shelving, eBooks, movie licensing fees, the popular Book Page handouts, and many other enhancements that benefit youth, tweens, teens, and adults. Thanks to FOL, these are made available to taxpayers without additional taxpayer expense.
FOL inspects, sorts, and carts thousands of donations up to the Book Nook, an enterprise furnishing new homes for books, fabulous bargains for savvy shoppers, and proceeds to improve the user experience at the library. How they accomplish so much so quietly is beyond me. While their profile is understated, their impact is anything but.
Actually, that’s a great premise for the next National Novel Writing Month—imagine a super-high-profile Friends organization emanating the glamour and power of a secret society (think Da Vinci Code) or covert operation. They’d be whispered about, even feared! Everyone would hope to infiltrate, or—better yet–join them! I’ve read (and certainly written) worse.
In the meantime, RRPL’s nonfictional and thankfully mild-mannered Friends group is planning some very entertaining fundraisers for next month…
