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poster for <em>Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two</em>

poster for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two

Harry Potter @ your library

Megan McFarlane | July 26, 2011

Movie posters for the second installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows remind fans that “it all ends,” but a visit to the local library might yield some different thoughts.

Libraries are keeping the Harry Potter tradition alive with a variety of programs for people of all ages in celebration of the movie’s release. Below are just a few examples of how libraries got involved in the celebration:

During the week of July 11, all forty-one branches of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County (Ohio) celebrated Harry Potter Week @ your library, during which Potter fans watched movies, tested their Harry Potter knowledge, mixed “potions,” and made Harry-themed crafts. Programs also included cooking programs, during which participants learned how to make Harry’s favorite beverage, butterbeer, and a Seven Deadly Days of Harry Potter book discussion had both teens and adults discuss a different book in the series each day. The library hosted more than forty different programs over the course of the week.

In celebration of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the Paris-Bourbon County (Ky.) Public Library developed a new Harry Potter–themed Check ‘em out @ your library page with links to the library’s collection of Harry Potter books, audiobooks, and movies, as well as recommended online Potter resources. Earlier this summer, the Phoenix Public Library hosted Harry Potter fun @ your library. Hogwarts: The Summer Session, was a series of programs, movies, and games geared toward teen Potter fans. The program wrapped up with Harry Potter: The Final Battle, which included a costume contest, Horcrux scavenger hunt, and potion-making classes.

As part of its Art @ your library program, the St. Louis County (Mo.) Public Library hosted Harry Potter Fest. The library invited “non-muggles” to the library for a free screening of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Participants were encouraged to come dressed as their favorite character and take part in Harry Potter games.

Be sure to check out additional Harry Potter content on ALA’s public awareness website, @ your library, including an interview with Harry Potter himself, actor Daniel Radcliff discussing Harry Potter, his READ poster, and libraries.

Megan McFarlane is Campaign Coordinator for the Campaign for America’s Libraries with the American Library Association Public Information Office.

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Posted by Susan Conlon on Wednesday, August 03, 2011, at 03:41 PM
I am happy to share some really fun Harry Potter-related programming this summer here at the Princeton Public Library, planned around the H.P. hoopla we anticipated surrounding the release of the last Harry Potter film on July 15.

We started on Thursday July 7 with a “Harry Potter Filibuster” with 38 readers (volunteers of all ages and some library staff) taking turns reading aloud from “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” in the library lobby from the start at 9:30 a.m. to its finish at about 6 p.m.
Here are some photos from the filibuster on the Princeton Public Library’s Flickr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/princetonpubliclibrary/sets/72157627181741626/show/

We estimate that at least 150 stopped by to watch at some point throughout the day. The Princeton Patch published a nice account of the day and readers of all ages love for the novels in this article, “Celebrating a Final Summer of Harry” online at: http://princeton.patch.com/events/the-harry-potter-filibuster.

The filibuster kicked-off the week-long Harry Potter Movie Marathon, which started that evening with the first film and ended the following Thursday evening on July 14 with “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” just in time for everyone to take in part 2 of the movie, which opened at midnight. We had more than 500 in total attendance (children, teens and adults) for the movie marathon.

Susan Conlon, Teen Services Librarian,
Princeton Public Library
Princeton, NJ
Posted by Jude Schanzer on Wednesday, August 03, 2011, at 12:26 PM
On Thursday, June 14 the East Meadow Public Library hosted Harry Potter Day. We found it a perfect venue for bringing quality science programming into the Library. There was a roster of Hogwarts classes and muggles were welcome. The Cradle of Aviation Museum brought over their inflatable StarLab and offered classes in Celestial Navigation. The Amateur Observers Society offered classes in Creating a Comet. Care Of Magical Animals was taught by the Volunteers for Wildlife and they featured the Owl. The Friends of the Hempstead Plains held the Herbology class and created terrariums with the Dragon's Lair plant. We also had Harry Potter Computer games and crafts in the Children's Department and video games in the Young Adult Department. Downstairs we showed Harry Potter films continuously, that evening we screened Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I. Yes, we dressed in costume as did the patrons. A child dressed as Voldemort, complete with the snake Nagini, won the costume contest.

the only glitch, a number of adults asked when we could have a Harry Potter Day for them.