Team members representing the Santa Monica Public Library won 1st place in the fourth annual Library Book Cart Drill Team World Championship competition held at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Anaheim on Sunday, June 29, 2008.
According to the American Library Association (ALA), book cart drill teams are established to “increase visibility of the library in their community, while shattering the conservative stereotype of librarians.” Teams typically consist of library workers who perform choreographed routines while pushing uniquely decorated book carts. They can be found at libraries across America and often perform in community parades and festivals. ALA created the Book Cart Drill Team World Championship competition to bring together these drill teams to compete for national acclaim and prizes at its annual conferences.
This year, the Santa Monica Public Library formed a team and entered the competition for the first time. Dubbed the “Well Stacked Sci-brarians,” the team dressed as mad scientists-turned-zombies and put together a rousing routine that included potion-mixing, costume changes, and monster makeup. They competed against seven other drill teams representing public and school libraries across California, Texas and Delaware. The competition was close, but the Well Stacked Sci-brarians from SMPL took 1st place and were awarded the coveted grand prize – a Gold full-sized book cart provided by DEMCO, the competition sponsor.
The team consisted of members representing four different divisions within the library. They are: Norma Angel, Diane Bednarski, Rachel Foyt, Lana Fukushima, Shana Johnson, Simran Khalsa, Christa Muscatine, Donnae Tidwell, Ann Wagner, and Ivy Weston.
To see a video of the winning performance, please visit the official YouTube link at youtube.com/watch?v=zZAL0bcO_k8. For more information about the Book Cart Drill Team World Championship competition, visit the American Library Association’s website at ala.org.
