Library Book Cart Drill Championships to be held June 27

CHICAGO – The sixth annual Library Book Cart Drill Team Championship, showcasing library workers performing themed dance routines with costumes and creatively decorated book carts, will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m., Sunday, June 27. The competition is one of the many events taking place during the American Library Association’s (ALA) Annual Conference held June 24 – 29 at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

Book cart drill teams increase the visibility of the library in their community. Teams can be found at community events such as parades and festivals, traveling to grade schools to promote literacy and providing library staff with the opportunity to build morale and encourage teamwork.

“Library drill teams are a great way to show communities that librarians, like libraries can be fun,” said Deidre Ross, director of conference services at ALA. “This year we are expecting a standing-room only crowd of more than 2,000 to cheer on their favorite team.”

This year’s competing teams include: The Delaware Diamonds, representing the Delaware Libraries; Gett Down with your Funky Shelf, representing the Musselman Library, Gettysburg (Pa.) College; Night of the Living Librarians, representing the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Science; Texas ArRangers, representing Midlothian (Texas) Independent School District; and ALA Student 2 Staff Kids, representing the ALA Student to Staff Program, Roselle, N.J.

This event, open to all teams throughout the U.S., is sponsored by DEMCO, who will provide book carts for the event as well as prizes. First, second and third place winners will receive a plaque, a gold, silver or bronze, full-sized book cart. Award-winning children’s book author/illustrator Mo Willems (The Elephant and Piggie books) and Jon Scieszka (“The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Fairy Tales”) will serve as hosts for the event.

The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members. Its mission is to promote the highest quality library and information services and public access to information.

For more information on the 2010 Annual ALA Conference, please visit the ALA Conference Web site at www.ala.org/annual, or contact ALA Media Relations Manager Macey Morales at (312) 280-4393, mmorales@ala.org, or ALA PR Coordinator Jennifer Petersen at (312) 280-5043, jpetersen@ala.org.