in Your Library
Introduction | Cast and Script | Clues | Discussion | Suggestions
Introduction
| The library can be a scary and mysterious place for new students in their first week at college. What better opportunity, then, to host a murder mystery? On September 13th, 2002, the Friends of the Library (a volunteer student organization) and a reference librarian did just that. The Friends specialize in promotional events for Gould Library and plan activities for new students every year, but this was the first time the library has hosted a murder mystery. Planning and preparation took about two months, culminating in an exclusive New Student Week event - on the night of Friday the 13th, coincidentally. Our goal was to educate as well as entertain, presenting students with a series of clues that required them to check out an article on reserve, look up an online subject guide, use the catalog and another database, and navigate the four floors of the library. We listed the event in the New Student Week schedule and distributed invitations to roughly 40 New Student Week leaders, returning students whose job includes informing first-years of the various activities on campus. We also posted fliers on the library doors on the day of the event, specifying that only first-years could participate and that only the first 50 to arrive would be admitted. Other preparations included coordination with the campus activities office, creation of a script and clues, rental and fitting of a tuxedo for our butler character, catering (cookies and lemonade), and cooperation with campus security to ensure that no alarms went off as we used the library after-hours. Without further ado, here is the "script" of the event as we planned it and the clues we used, followed by a discussion of how it actually turned out and suggestions for future productions. |
Cast and Script
Cast:
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8:30 pm: Cast members enter the empty library and begin final preparations. The cookies and lemonade are already in the Athenaeum, but need to be transferred to silver platters and a punchbowl. Most of the clues are already in place (ones that weren't in danger of being discovered during the day), but others need to be put in their respective locations now. The butler waits in the entrance area (between the inner and outer sets of doors) to greet early arrivals. 9:15 pm: We turn off all lights but those on the main floor, then gather in the Athenaeum. The butler opens the doors, introducing himself as Bats, the butler, as he directs players into the Athenaeum. Players eat, drink, and socialize as they wait. 9:30 pm: Bats closes and locks the inner set of doors and puts up a sign saying “Back in 5 minutes.” The student workers leave through the back door of the Athenaeum and wait at the bottom of the nearest stairway. |
| 9:31 pm: One of the student workers screams at the top of her lungs, then all cast members return to the Athenaeum. The host explains that Professor Dodgson from the Department of Jabberwocky Studies was found murdered in the library this evening; one of the students must have run into his body by mistake. The murderer left a note inviting students to try to solve the crime by following a series of clues. |
| 9:32 pm: The host asks players to form teams (up to nine, depending on the number of players), then leads them out of the Athenaeum and to the loan services area. The student workers take their places at the reserves and circulation desks and hand out manila envelopes (labeled with colored stars) to the teams. The host explains that all of the clues are color-coded, so players must follow only the clues labeled with their team's color. The first clues are waiting in lockers downstairs. Each envelope contains a key to one of these lockers, a map of the library with a star where the locker can be found, and a flashlight. Some players have an extra clue in their envelopes which can be ignored for now; it will make sense later. The host asks students to return to the Athenaeum by 10:25 pm, whether they have discovered the murderer's identity or not. |
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9:35 pm: The game is afoot. The reference librarian sits at the reference desk. Bats and the host form a tenth team from whatever students are waiting at the door and fill them in on what they missed. The host and the other stacks guide patrol the stacks, ready to answer any questions. Bats takes down the “Back in 5 minutes” sign and puts up one that says “Sorry, we're full.” |
| 10:25 pm: Everyone gathers in the Athenaeum. We present limited edition Gould Library Frisbees to members of winning teams and thank everyone for participating. |
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Clues
While there may be up to ten teams playing, there are only five color-coded sets of clues, in the interest of simplicity. Players need not worry (or even realize) that another team is following the same clues. Depending on each team's color, the sequence of clues is as follows, starting with the clue found in the locker:
The final clue is the same for every group:
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Discussion
| Of course, events like these never go exactly as planned. Our first surprise was the level of interest in the murder mystery; several students came to the library around noon on the day of the event asking to be put on a list that would guarantee their admittance (we had no such list). We also had to explain to about a dozen returning students (many of them visibly disappointed) that the event was designed for new students only. Players began arriving 45 minutes early to wait in line and once the doors were open, 55 first-year students (out of a class of 510) made it into the Athenaeum before we managed to close the doors again. We skipped our “Back in 5 minutes” sign and went straight to “Sorry, we're full.” Our second surprise was the discovery at the last minute that we couldn't turn off many of the lights on the other floors. We had even asked in advance which switches in the electrical box controlled these lights, so this was especially frustrating. Later we learned that these lights share a circuit with certain computers and systems that require a constant
power supply. We suspected the idea of exploring a totally darkened library with flashlights was what attracted so many of the students to the event in the first place, although we didn't hear any complaints. However, the reduced need for flashlights was probably the reason the players finished solving the mystery about twenty minutes ahead of schedule. The final clue for all groups was located at the reference desk; had we known 55 students would be literally running up to the reference desk in the last ten minutes of the game, we would have planned this differently. As the only reference librarian on hand, I felt this was unfair to the players. Despite these unexpected developments, the murder mystery was a tremendous success. Lack of publicity was obviously not a problem, and we had just enough refreshments for everyone. Fran's scream was clearly audible over the conversations of the anxiously waiting players and was quite effective at setting the mood and creating a moment of silence for the host to begin speaking. The clues seemed to be challenging enough to sustain players' interest, but not too difficult to solve in the allotted time. Most players had no difficulty understanding and following the correct sequence of clues; only two teams became confused at one point or another. The players understood from the beginning that the purpose of the game was educational and students who under normal circumstances might have been reluctant to ask questions put their inhibitions aside in the interest of solving the
mystery. If nothing else, students learned how to use the closed reserves, conduct a subject search in our catalog, find a book using its call number and check it out, find a subject guide, and use one of the many databases we offer. In the end, two teams solved the mystery simultaneously and the other teams either overheard the identity of the murderer or assumed prizes would go only to the first team to solve the mystery. Some of these teams continued to work on the final clue purely out of interest in the riddle, but others shrugged their shoulders and left. We had intended to reward all players who solved the mystery before 10:25, but the number of players made it difficult to communicate this to everyone in time. Thankfully, all of the players were on their best behavior in all respects throughout the event (not that we would expect anything less from Carleton students). |
Suggestions
About halfway into the event, our library director dropped in unannounced to observe and was very impressed; we intend to offer the murder mystery again next year. My suggestions for next year's production, and for anyone else considering a similar game in their own library, are as follows:
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Please feel free to contact me with questions and comments!
Michael Kirby
Gould Library, Carleton College
One N. College St.
Northfield, MN 55057-4097
Phone: (507) 646-7671
E-mail: