Public library serving up a different kind of 6-pack for long weekend

People in the St. John's area heading out to the cabin for a long weekend this summer can now pick up a six-pack (of books) at the library.

The A.C. Hunter Library calls it the Cabin Six-Pack Grab-N-Go, and kits are available for a six-week checkout period.

"Part of what we were thinking was, OK, there's six books, you grab it, you go to the cabin or off in the RV or wherever, a staycation — you're gonna find something that you're gonna like," says Bonnie Morgan, the N.L. Collections and Reference service librarian.

"So even if you don't read everything that's in there, there's gonna be something in there. You can't play cards all the time, right?"

And to sweeten — or savour? — the deal, the library tossed in a free snack with the first 12 kit check-outs, in the form of a bag of Hawkins Cheezies or Hickory Sticks.

Morgan said the collection, which only started this week, has already been a hit.

"Our first one went out before 10 o'clock when we actually rolled out the collection about 9:50, and someone grabbed one right away," she told CBC's Weekend AM.

"We've had some people actually come in deliberately to get them. They heard about it on Twitter and they came in to get a bag."

Each of the bags of six books is themed, with works by various Newfoundland and Labrador authors, said John Griffin, a library technician at the A.C. Hunter.

"This is one of my favourites. The theme we selected for it was St. John's memories," Griffin said, thumbing through a few of the titles.

"We tried to select books that people would find interesting, but there's one collection we call a mixed bag, so you take that and you're getting a mixed bag of books. You're getting fiction, there's non-fiction — there's good stuff."

Griffin said this selection of Newfoundland and Labrador-themed book kits was able to be created through donations made to the library.

"In the last six months to a year, we have had a lot of donations of Newfoundland books that were in pristine condition and there were so many that we said we need to do something special with them," he said, adding that library staff had a good time putting the themed kits together for people who don't really know what they want.

"Rather than come in and spend half an hour, 45 minutes browsing the shelves … one of the ideas with this was that it would help expose people to different stuff, because there are a lot of Newfoundland authors and it's a very diverse group of writers."

Library patrons can't put a hold on the kits, but they can browse the collection on the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Library website to see what's available.

Morgan said it's something they're hoping to keep around for a while.

"This is certainly something that we'll be keeping as part of our regular collection, and depending on the popularity we'll be adding to the collection," she said.

"It's really for anyone who wants to know more about Newfoundland and Labrador, experience a variety of Newfoundland authors. It's just something … to make it good to explore, maybe writers you haven't thought about."

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