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Branching out beyond books

By CRISTINA SILVA
Published February 1, 2007

ST. PETE BEACH - Within a stone's throw of both Boca Ciega Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, the St. Pete Beach library lures noted puzzle masters and authors with the promise of Goldfish crackers and grouper sandwiches.

In Pinellas Park, the library tempts children by having a staff member don a homemade penguin costume during story time.

In Safety Harbor, library patrons are privy to nearly biweekly performances from a local teen theater troupe.

With state funding at a standstill for the past six years, more libraries are trying to raise awareness about their financial needs and attract additional customers with special programming and events, often by using limited resources. Library directors say the programs are a way to remain vital even as their communities continue to grow and they cannot build larger facilities.

"We want to save the library," said St. Pete Beach library director Roberta Whipple, who has hosted discussions with Sudoku master Merl Reagle and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales in the past two weeks. "If you bring people in for programs, there is a reason for the library. And besides, we like to have fun."

Whipple, who has worked for the city of St. Pete Beach since 1994, said she started searching for connections to famous people whom she could persuade to come to the library two years ago on a whim. She and her sister had attended high school with novelist Mary Kay Andrews, and when she saw the acclaimed author at a book fair she begged her to come back to her hometown and speak at the library. Andrews agreed.

The library has no money to pay speakers, but Whipple said she often promises food in the e-mails she sends out, begging her guests to come.

"I kind of make it cutesy. ... With Merl, his wife said he really wanted to do it but that he had to go on Oprah, so we just rescheduled it until he could come," she said.

Whipple's skill of booking speakers to her small library has her peers in awe. She is attracting more than 150 people per event at a time when the state has not increased funding to libraries since 2000, resulting in a loss of about $700,000 for the county.

Mary A. Brown, executive director of the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative, said each library in the county is independent of one another and its directors decide how to divvy up the budget and whether to host special events.

But with funding tight, some older libraries have had to reduce programming because they cannot fit large groups of library users in their space at one time.

"They are still going to want to have the best programs for their cities," but many libraries have to depend heavily on donations or charitable speakers to do so, Brown said.

The financial strain has put a competitive edge on creating special events among library directors, who want to outshine other libraries using whatever means possible.

Pinellas Park community activities administrator Barbara Ponce just hired a librarian whose full-time job is to create programs and special events.

Along with their penguin reading hour, the library also hosted a tour of the Panama Canal Museum in Seminole this month that featured a wine and cheese spread.

"This is a part of customer service," Ponce said. "But you know, it would always be nice to have bragging rights, too."

Cristina Silva can be reached at 727 893-8846 or csilva@sptimes.com.

[Last modified February 1, 2007, 00:24:51]