On Sept. 12, the Oviedo branch of the Seminole County Public Library was home to a miniature café. Instead of food, however, books were on the menu.
High school students could browse the selection of displayed books, and discuss them with others. They were encouraged to try samples of many different genres, especially those that they do not usually read.
This is the first event of its kind; the East Branch has held teen book clubs before, but most of their activities are aimed towards younger children. It was also far more open and less rigidly structured than the typical types of activities that the library has, allowing attendees to mill about and talk in small groups.
Librarian Sarah Viviani organized and supervised the Book Tasting, and has run the book club programs in the past. She prefers this type of event over book clubs.
“[The Book Tasting] allows everybody to kind of get a feel for things that they like, [instead of all] reading the same book.” Viviani said.
Viviani worked with high school volunteers to generate a list of their favorite lesser-known books, and then added some of her own.
“[Viviani] came out with a little legal pad,” sophomore Sofia Azevedo, a summer volunteer at the library, said. “She basically told us to list our favorite books of different genres—so a bunch of the volunteers put down graphic novels, historical fiction, dystopian and other things like realistic fiction, which was pretty cool.”
Once the list was complete, Viviani began the long process of reserving all of the books and having them sent to the Oviedo Branch. The only thing left was decorating: she designed graphics reminiscent of Starbucks, printed handouts for attendees to keep track of which books caught their eye, and set up a snack table.
Viviani also remained present during the event—which was held in the library’s meeting room—in order to offer suggestions and discuss books with the students.
“I always love to share my love of reading,” Viviani said. “I think it’s fun to discuss books, especially with teens. It’s something that I’m able to relate to.”
Azevedo attended the Book Tasting, along with several other students from nearby high schools.
She picked out three new books, while some students checked out entire stacks of new reading material.
“I am kind of in a reading slump right now,” Azevedo said. “So I needed some new ideas to read.”
This will not be the last event of its kind. There are two more teen programs that are scheduled for the next two months: on Oct. 24, teenagers can participate in a Pumpkin Paint-Off, and on Nov. 14, they can join Studio Ghibli Fandom Night.
