Library exhibit brainstorming
Hey, tildes - cqns here,
I work in a library and, once in a while, when I have time, I make something called a "display", which is essentially a curated selection of books for the public to check out, which lasts for approximately a single month. Usually, most people do things very linearly with their displays, a single letter-sized paper that serves as the title label for the topic of the display, and then the physical books in an array on the shelf. I, however, think that most of the displays are particularly boring in the way that they approach the public, hence my need for brainstorming.
What I have in mind is an interactive one-stand exhibit, akin to an art gallery in a museum. The title of the exhibit is "Libri Insoliti", which roughly translates to "strange/unusual books". It is a nine item list that includes the following titles in order:
- The Road - Cormac McCarthy (BOOK, AUDIOBK, EBOOK, DVD, BLU-RAY)
- The Mezzanine - Nicholson Baker (AUDIOBK only)
- Several People Are Typing - Calvin Kasulke (BOOK, AUDIOBK, EBOOK)
- Hopscotch - Julio Cortázar (BOOK - as compilation, EBOOK)
- Ficciones - Jorge Luis Borges (BOOK, BOOK en espanol, AUDIOBK en espanol, EBOOK en espanol)
- The Employees - Olga Ravn (BOOK, EBOOK)
- House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski (BOOK only - Read one page to find out why.)
- "S" - Doug Dorst (BOOK only - some cutouts missing)
- Finnegans Wake - James Joyce (BOOK, EBOOK)
Of each title, I have my written piece on the side that informs the public on what to generally expect when reading the specific titles...and then a QR code that links to a Vocaroo recording of yours truly narrating that which I've already written. Therein lies the rub - in my side of town, it appears as though the general public may not know how to use a QR code, hence my idea being to go a bit above and beyond.
With the QR code method, people may not realize their device's volume level is extremely high and cause distraction. The library is ideally a quiet place for people and I would like for the exhibit's audio to be non-intrusive, leading me to another idea: the purchasing of some type of equipment that allows patrons to listen to the exhibit audio with attached headphones only. There are many things to consider, because the exhibit is in an area which a plug is not easily accessible, so ideally, it may need to work with a battery pack of some kind. I do have, in my possession, a Raspberry Pi5, but, it needs to be plugged in to work. So, does such a device exist? I've searched it up extensively and came across this (https://www.digitalaudiotechnologies.com/product/soundclip-2-2-button-looping-or-pir/), but I don't know whether or not this would even work. Any suggestions?
My librarian sister once set up a " NYTConnections" themed display that challenged people to find the groups of 4. So, maybe something that links them together that also informs on topics/themes/setting?
Have you considered something like museum self guided audio? I have no idea the cost or your budget, but being able to touch the device to different tags and hear the audio seems exactly what your describing.
However, I feel remiss not to point this out: Are you thinking that people would have their own headphones, or that they would use a "community" pair of headphones? I think most people are going to have wireless headphones if they have anything at all, and shared headphones seem unsanitary?
Have you considered other ways of making the display interactive? I was thinking of a paper loop on two spools with a crank, so that you turn the crank to "scroll" through the text. You could have one for each book. Low tech, no batteries, visually interesting.
okay, hear me out
(I've always wanted an excuse to build one)
or this cursed version that holds all of discworld in a single donut
Or put all the books on a lazy Susan, curtains obscuring the left and right thirds of the window. Patrons spin the platform to "swipe" left or right on books.
As for audio: @cqns , there is no way I'm putting on community headphones. I also have attention based hearing difficulties and wouldn't be able to really hear you unless I play it too loud and too many times. Consider "Scan library card - receive audio email" : patron gets to hear it at home and come back for the book next time or use home app to waitlist, and your library remains quiet and nobody gets headlice.
Edit: or, they get the email on their phones right away and can use their own headphones to listen.
generally i find qr codes well intentioned but very rarely well implemented. my stock camera app has no way to scan them so i have to download some random app, and then you need data, and their browser might be cluttered with a bunch of other tabs. and you still need to host the content somewhere on the internet in a way they can play without hassle etc.
i dont know how feasable it would be to have it be something physical instead. obviously you dont want it blasting out the speakers, or to worry about programming or building something custom.
so perhaps you could do like the one of the other comments mentioned and put some headphones at the display, but connected to just a cheapie thrifted mp3 player. theyd have to key to the right track, or just put the headphones in and be in the middle of whatevers player and roll with that. but i think thats within reason for a quiet interactive display