Book Cart Drill Team
I had an amazing (and busy) weekend! Our community is celebrating our 300th year anniversary this year with events happening throughout the year. On Saturday, there was a parade, carnival, and our community day fair, making it a very busy day for almost everyone in town.
Our library entered a book cart drill team in the parade and I am proud to announce that we placed second! With ten middle school students ranging from 9 – 14 years old, we placed second!!! I am so proud of how hard the kids worked and even more – how much fun they had! We began practicing a few weeks ago, learning the moves and routine and the kids were really quick learners.
My tips for starting a book cart drill team
1.) Purchase/borrow the book The Library Book Cart Precision Drill Team by Linda D. McCracken and Lynne Zeiher. This book was essential in learning how to explain, teach and understand the moves that can be done with book carts. It also has essential information about tricks of the trade, stage routines, and more.
2.) Find a group of people who are as excited as you are. For me, this was a group of kids that loves the library and performing!
3.) I was afraid of breaching copyright, so rather than just using a song on the radio, I took a popular song and with some help wrote a parody and did a quick recording.
4.) Decorate your carts with a theme and have your group wear matching outfits. It’s also the library’s birthday this year so we decorated our carts with yellow, red, and blue streamers and balloons that matched the library’s logo. We also put a library logo on the front of each cart and had the help of two members of our group carry a (rather inexpensive) banner we had made at Staples.
I chose a song that I knew was really popular right now – getting radio play and that many kids (and some adults) would know. We wrote a parody to the Cup song, performed by Anna Kendrick in the movie, Pitch Perfect. If you’re unfamiliar with the song, check it out on YouTube.
It was great to see all the support from the people watching the parade, the kids were greeted with cheers and applause the whole way through the parade and I think it showed the community how much fun the library is and what great kids support the public library! It was a great day and so much fun for both myself and the kids I work with. I am so proud!
Our lyrics (which you are more than welcome to borrow) were:
I’ve got my card for the check-out desk
So many books to read this week
And I sure do like goin’ there every day
And I’m findin’ what makes my interest pique
When you’re there, when you’re there
You’re gonna love it when you’re there
You’re gonna love to read the books
You’re gonna bring your Kindles and Nooks, oh
You’re gonna love it when you’re there
When you’re there, when you’re there
You’re gonna love it when you’re there
You’re gonna learn your ABCs
You’re gonna find programs for free, oh
You’re gonna love it when you’re there
I’ve got my card for the check-out desk
The one that’s yellow, red and blue
It’s got fiction, it’s got fact
To the ceiling books are stacked
But it sure would be better with you
When you’re there, when you’re there
You’re gonna love it when you’re there
You’re gonna learn your ABCs
You’re gonna find programs for free, oh
You’re gonna love it when you’re there
When you’re there, when you’re there
You’re gonna love it when you’re there
You’re gonna love to read the books
You’re gonna bring your Kindles and Nooks, oh
You’re gonna love it when you’re there
When you’re there, when you’re there
You’re gonna love it when you’re there
You’re gonna learn your ABCs
You’re gonna find programs for free, oh
You’re gonna love it when you’re there