Outreach: Blind Date with a Book

 by Kandy de Martin

Many of you are aware of the Blind Date with a Book concept.  It is a handpicked, surprise wrapped book that includes a paper with a few clues about it. Participants choose their “date” based on whatever appeals to them.

In February, Outreach brought this fun literary adventure to six senior facilities and bookmobile stops.

We adapted Blind Date with a Book to fit our patron’s needs. On the description paper we included the genre, the barcode and the first line of the book or a short and catchy text to intrigue the readers. Some of our patron’s favorite genres were selected such as romance, inspirational, mysteries, thrillers, suspense and historical fiction. We also included books for teens and young kids for the bookmobile and books in large print format for the lobby stops.

We had many patrons curious enough to participate in Blind Date with a Book. One such patron was a young man who couldn’t wait to unwrap the book he chose. All in all we checked out approximately 15 wrapped books.