A month ago, we hit the road for the first ever Fiction and Film Tour!  Part of the Check Out Your Library (COYL) movement, the tour will feature dozens of in-person events that shine a spotlight on libraries. 

Check Out Your Library is a multi-year initiative created to help your community discover (or rediscover!) all the cool, unique, and valuable resources available at your library. Whether your organization’s priorities are tied to increased circulation numbers, program attendance, new users, or something else, COYL is here to help.  With COYL, it’s never been easier to drive awareness and increase foot traffic to your library using digital campaigns, events, social media, press and outreach, and more.   Learn more about COYL and how you can get involved here. 

Our Digital Bookmobile has been given a very demure, very mindful rebrand as “The LV” (Library Vehicle). Outfitted with book and film content, the LV is designed to bring people on board, engage them, and ultimately sign up for a library card if they don’t already have one. 

Come along as we check in on the LV and see how things are going on the road! 

Las Vegas, NV 

Our first stop was in sunny (and hot!) Las Vegas, NV where we paired up with the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. Inside the LV, people of all ages hopped on board to get out of the sun and learn about all the cool things available from the library!  

You’ve heard about Silent Discos, but what about a Silent Storytime? While in Las Vegas, we stopped at AREA15, an immersive entertainment and events district. Author and audiobook narrator Julia Whelan joined us to lend her voice to a Silent Story session. Attendees wore Check Out Your Library headphones to hear Julia read from her books then got to listen in to a live Q&A hosted by Professional Book Nerds co-host Joe.

Signage at Las Vegas event

Librarians from Las Vegas-Clark County Library District were on hand to educate visitors on the services available at their 27 branches, give out sunglasses and fans, and, of course, sign people up for library cards!  

Read more about this stop on the Libby Life blog here. 

Charlotte, NC 

Pop-up event in Charlotte

Our next big event took us to Charlotte, NC where the team at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library hit it out of the ballpark!

During our time in Charlotte we were joined by author Emily Farris, who met up with readers and fans to discuss her book I’ll Just Be Five More Minutes. PBN’s Joe was back to host a fun conversation with Emily at Protagonist Beer, a local brewery. 

Then the LV headed to the local minor league baseball stadium to hang out with the Charlotte Knights! When Knights fans entered the ballpark, they were greeted by our pop-up where our friends from Charlotte Mecklenburg Library helped us give out Libby baseballs, sunglasses from PRH Audio, and play Plinko for prizes! 

We all know Libby makes one of the best workout companions, which is why the LV made a stop at the Keith Family YMCA alongside Charlotte Mecklenburg’s MoLi bookmobile. Folks could borrow books from the library and pick up goodies from the Fiction & Film tour! 

Read more about this stop on the Libby Life blog here. 

Next Stop: Your Library? 

If you have questions about the Fiction and Film Tour or want to be added to next year’s tour, please email us at checkoutyourlibrary[at]overdrive.com.   

Even if you don’t have an upcoming stop, you can still get involved! Visit the Resource Center  to download the Check Out Your Library marketing kit. Inside you’ll find social images you can customize right in Canva, printable posters and fliers, a logo kit, programming guide, and more!   

To see where our Fiction and Film Tour is headed next, visit checkoutyourlibrary.com.

About the author: Jill is a Marketing & Communications Specialist on the North America Public Library Marketing Team. A former librarian, she joined OverDrive in 2015. Outside of the office she can be found writing, hanging out with her cats, collecting more Tarot decks than she has room for, and playing competitive pinball. Her favorite genre is something she calls “Murder at an educational institution that involves a close-knit group of suspicious characters.”