Well, they had such a wonderful response that the library asked Konrad to do it all again this year. Here is their 2018 flyer with a schedule of events.
From Konrad's email to me at the start of the month:
We had such a great time with and such a good turnout for "Oh, the Horror!" last year that we had to bring it back. We felt like we had a pretty cohesive theme last year around "exorcism," so we wanted to stay thematic and focus on "monsters real and imagined" this year. Kaitlyn McConnell of Ozarks Alive did such a great job kicking things off last year that we had to start things off with her, and her "Monsters of the Ozarks" presentation last night attracted 112 people to learn about monsters like Gow-row, Momo, and the Goat Man of Rolla.
We streamlined our programs a bit and went more for quality over quantity so we can (hopefully) get a higher attendance average and lobby for funding for next year.
We've got a great line-up this year, including cryptozoologist Lyle Blackburn, a showing of "The Silence of the Lambs," and St. Louis author Kea Wilson discussing her debut novel, "We Eat Our Own."
I just want you to know I'm still fighting the good fight for horror in libraries!I have received more updates from Konrad since and the programs are all bringing in over 100 people. He sent pictures of the audience to prove it!
When Konrad first conceived of this project last year, he was trying to use his passion for horror and an October placement to build excitement in his community and inspire people to connect with the library in a new way. The library was not 100% convinced that people would come out for horror. A fact that doesn't surprise me at all. But, Konrad had gotten Grady Hendrix to come, so it wasn't like they were going to say no to that!
Success meant Konrad was given funding to give it a go again this year, and you know what? People love it. The moral here-- give horror programing a try.
More and more libraries are giving genre programming the green light. Why? Because it draws in patrons, patrons who might not have thought the library was for them, but when we offer fandom and genre programs, suddenly they can see themselves in the library. They feel like it is a place for them. We, the library workers, know the library is for everyone, but sadly, we don't always project this attitude with our actions.
I have been gathering the stories from all different types of libraries, from Konrad's month long extravaganza to one-off exhibitions at Academic libraries to all out fan fests and with help from my colleague Emily, we are going to have a panel at StokerCon Librarians' Day all about genre based programming at your library. The Springfield-Greene County District Library has graciously agreed to send Konrad up to Grand Rapids to share his experiences and enthusiasm with all of you, but only if you join us. I for one can't wait.
Have you also had some horror programming this year? If so, let me know. Toward the end of the month I would love to run a showcase of all of the wonderful horror based programing happening this month all over the country. Contact me with "31 Days" in the subject line- bspratford [at] hotmail [dot] com- so I can share your successes with a wider audience.
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