Bloomsburg Public Library Internship Week 5

Week five of my internship with the Marketing Department at the Bloomsburg Public Library was by far the most exciting because it was finally time for Murder Mystery! This was the third Murder Mystery fundraiser, and I was there for the first two as well so it's been really interesting to see how these events evolve.

This years was called "Murder In The Library - Chapter Three: Publish or Perish" and the premise centered around a fictional publishing company called “Linden Tree Publishing,” which had narrowed down a contest to four finalists competing to become the next big author. The winner was set to be announced at the “Susquehanna Valley Writer’s Festival,” hosted right at the library. Guests got to meet the authors and their esteemed judges before, of course, a murder took place. Each night featured a different victim and a different murderer, which kept things fresh and unpredictable. And meant we could possibly raise more money by convincing people to come twice!

The set-up, detail, and preparation for all of this was really cool. One of my favorite parts was the author displays. Each actor created a little author bio blurb for the character they were playing, along with a book summary and cover of the authors entry for the competition. These were displayed on 19x27 posters positioned on tables around the living room for the attendees to browse. It was such a cool detail to add and really made the whole thing feel immersive. Throughout the library, different rooms contained "evidence" with little evidence markers to help guests piece together clues and solve the mystery. For some reason, instead of the pens and bookmarks we had ordered the week before (perhaps they didn't come in on time),winners received small magnifying glasses printed with “CTP” (the logo for Crime Time Productions), the company that created the mystery. They didn’t actually magnify anything, but they were still a fun keepsake. I even got one that was leftover! I also got to take home the fake staff badge made for the "Writer's Festival."

The event started Thursday and most of what I did involved set-up and maintenance. I helped arrange food tables and dining tables, rearranged furniture to better set the scene, stocked coolers with soda and water, and made sure all the bartending supplies were ready. We also set out raffle jars and items and carefully placed the author displays and evidence pieces throughout the building. Watching the library transform into a staged crime scene was pretty cool.

Saturday required a bit of resetting since the library had to be open during the day. I helped put back anything that had been moved, then later worked at the self-serve food station, assisting guests when needed. After that, I was stationed in the book storage basement room to guard the evidence there. We were encouraged to really lean into character as distressed library workers who didn’t want to get fired for letting evidence be tampered with. An easy enough character for me since I really am a library worker who doesn't want to get fired for messing up the event somehow, but I went for a "please don’t touch anything, wouldn’t want your fingerprints on it making you a suspect" approach because I'm not good at confrontation or acting so a little bit of humor felt the easiest. The evidence in my area included a coffee cup from one of the authors, a toolbox, a poster board about a children’s book series, and a tampered event calendar.

On Sunday, I worked at the drinks bar. I’m not a certified bartender, so I didn’t mix cocktails, but I poured wine, beer, and soda into cups (we weren’t allowed to hand out full cans). The themed cocktails were a highlight, classic drinks with punny literary names, like “Critical Lies,” which was a Dirty Shirley. It was at the bar that I really got to talk to attendees and see how much these events mean to the community. They’re not just entertaining, they bring in fundraising and build dedicated support for the library. 

At the end of the weekend, I helped with cleanup: folding tables, washing dishes, and finding storage space for leftover food and drinks. Overall, it was really rewarding to see everything come together.

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