Beer and Books: Inside Monroe County Public Library's New Programs

May 11, 2018
${alt}

When you’re a kid, the public library is a pretty easy sales pitch. It’s like a Scholastic Book Fair on steroids, with all sorts of books, movies and more readily available – and it doesn’t require any of that money you don’t have. You can consume a whole section in an afternoon if you’re not careful.

Adults with children know this too. The library is a choice location to bring kids to keep that literary cycle going, while giving the parents a chance to pick something out themselves. And it still doesn’t require that money you don’t have (because you have kids now).

But teenagers, college students and young professionals tend to be inundated with the idea that libraries are for studying and busywork, that it’s just the place to pick up books you don’t want to read in classes you didn’t want to take.

That’s why the team at the Monroe County Public Library in Bloomington has been rolling out new programs targeted to that demographic to fill in those gaps and give them a place to congregate.

Support For Indiana Public Media Comes From

Those are events like Great Job! Podcraft Club, which has guests learn a new crafting skill while trying out a different podcast each month; Nerd Nite, a TED Talk-esque program at a bar with live music; and various book clubs that meet around town at different coffee shops and bars.

We sat in on Pub-lic Library, hosted at Function Brewing with help from The Game Preserve, a tabletop gaming shop in downtown Bloomington. The Game Preserve brought over all kinds of games for guests to try out over a beer or two, all while letting them meet new people.

In the video above, librarians Erica Brown and Matt Neer share some insight into how these events got started and, if you’re not in the Bloomington area, what you can do to get something going at your own local library.

For more information on the MCPL’s events, head to the library’s website or their page on Meetup.

Read: Monroe County Public Library rolls out sustainable “book bike” (via WTIU/WFIU News)