Sunday, June 8, 2008

Detroit Festival of the Arts

Yesterday after work, I went to the Detroit Festival of the Arts and was really pleased with this community event. I had never been to this festival before and I was immediately charmed by the joyful vibe of the event and the people attending and working. There is an entire section for children and families, and this was one of my favorite parts. During my break from the Undergraduate Library Information Desk I wandered around amazed by the wonderful community organizations that were hosting crafts and other fun events for kids. The Detroit Institute of the Arts had tables set up for kids to create fanciful, spectacular paper bag hats. MOCAD also offered a lovely opportunity for kids and kids-at-heart to create earth art: temporary outside sculptures using rocks, twigs, leaves, pinecones, etc. I was totally enchanted with everything and wished that I was 8 years old again.

I need to get my camera fixed so that I can take photos and post 'em here.

At any rate, as I was walking around the festival, I noticed the Information Booths, and wondered immediately why I hadn't offered to volunteer to staff one. Community events like this are perfect opportunities for librarians to get involved with their communities and to share their skills. Yes, I'm sure it involves a lot of "where is the bathroom?" questions, but so what? Librarians should be involved in their communities and participating in events and festivals like these are a great way to insert the profession into a place where people don't automatically think "librarian." I know that Jessamyn West has participated in large-scale events like Burning Man and the WTO protests. I wonder if other librarians do this type of local reference. I will look into it.

5 comments:

Ruth said...

Good idea, there's always next year, right?

I'm checking out that twitter thing . ..

So sorry about your power, hope you get it fastfastfast.

Heather said...

Hey Ruth, Twitter is just an easy way to keep people updated with what's happening in your life at the moment. I'm just trying it out myself.

We have power now. All is well.

Kevin Moore said...

I like the new digs! And added you to my blogroll.

I'm going to ALA, too, so I'll try to find you. Until then, please pardon my addressing several posts in a totally unrelated post. I feel like my mom when I do that. :-)

Meghan said...

Just wanted to chime in as a librarian in training who did volunteer at the event--it was super fun. I volunteered with the street painters and it was a great experience. Definitely do it next year!

Heather said...

Hey Meghan,

Thanks for stopping by. Wow, the street painting was so amazing. Are you a LIS student at Wayne? If so, drop me an e-mail. We should get together sometime.