Programming Librarian

Blaine Lewis, 6, models his zombie costume as he walks in front of judges and the public at the Zombie Project Runway in the Ferndale Public Library

Andy Bronson/The Bellingham Herald

Brains!

Angela Hanshaw | October 14, 2010

Perhaps sparked by Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, zombies are once again all the rage. It takes brains to tap into the undead audience in your program planning. Do you have what it takes? These libraries do:

The University Hills Branch of the Austin (Tex.) Public Library is going all-out with Zombie Fest 3. Three zombie movies—Zombieland, Ninjas vs. Zombies, and I Sell the Dead—will be screened, and a House of the Dead video game tournament will be held. The zombie book club will discuss Star Wars: Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber. Finally, the day before Halloween, the library will host a Zombie Blow-Out, with zombie Jeopardy and Family Feud games, zombie costume contests, a zombie art show, a zombie eating contest, a zombie survival discussion, refreshments, and music.

The Regina (Sask.) Public Library asks “How did an obscure figure from Haitian folklore become such an iconic figure?” University of Regina Master’s student Cassie Ozog will discuss the zombie in pop culture history and try to answer why they are so popular with today’s readers and film-goers. Shamble down in zombie garb; prizes will be awarded for the best costumes. Following the presentation, all zombies (and guests) are invited to take pictures in the haunted lecture theater in the Centre for Continuing Education—if they dare!

The Ferndale (Wash.) Public Library hosted a Zombie Project Runway. Seven kids had an hour to get themselves zombied up before walking down a runway in the library and standing before the judges. Each zombie contestant had to have an infection story, which ranged from a motorcycle crash in zombie territory to a zombie homeless man asking for spare change and spare limbs.

The West Allis (Wisc.) Public Library tested its teens’ knowledge of zombie trivia and survival with a zombie night including zombie games, zombie snacks, and a zombie craft. At the end of the night, the teens danced to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Teens could arrive dressed in their zombie finest, or try their hands at a zombie make-up station.

The Huntley (Ill.) Area Public Library is hosting a zombie prom. Described as an evening of dancing, brains, target practice, and, ultimately, zombie-slaying, the event will also include zombie makeover artists. Undead dress highly recommended.

Grand Rapids (Mich.) Public Library is offering a zombie film fest featuring cult-classic Night of the Living Dead and the recent Zombieland. Later, Max Brooks, foremost zombie preparedness expert and author of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War and The Zombie Survival Guide, will discuss his works and sign books.

How are you accommodating the zombies in your community?

Angela Hanshaw is Program Officer/Web Editor for the ALA Public Programs Office.

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