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102 Club

Coordinating Your 102 Talking-Book Club Campaign

Introduction

More than 1,600 users of the free national library service are one hundred years old or older. To honor these patrons, the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress, established the 102 Talking-Book Club.

NLS director Frank Kurt Cylke conceived the 102 Talking-Book Club (102 Club) to recognize the accomplishments of the national reading program's centenarians. He and other NLS staff members have attended ceremonies throughout the U.S. sponsored by NLS's network of cooperating libraries to celebrate these patrons, who receive a certificate and a pin noting their special status. The events highlight the reading services provided by each state and also increase public awareness of the free regional reading programs. These ceremonies began in the fall of 2004 and will continue indefinitely.

Talking books enable our patrons to continue to follow social and academic interests that they might otherwise have to give up. The 102 Club salutes remarkable patrons who, at more than one hundred years of age, remain actively engaged in reading. The 102 Club provides the opportunity to acknowledge their achievements and the rewards of a life of reading and intellectual curiosity.

This manual is provided to help your library get the greatest benefit from the 102 Talking-Book Club. Within these pages you will find suggestions for getting publicity, scheduling your event, inviting patrons, ordering 102 Club materials, and contacting NLS representatives who can answer your questions. Libraries considering participation in the 102 Talking-Book Club should evaluate their available resources for planning and managing the event. The most successful events are the result of advance preparation and careful consideration.

Libraries

Libraries are invited to participate in the 102 Talking-Book Club and to host charter events. The logistics and nature of each event are fully at the discretion of the individual library. Each regional library may request that an NLS representative attend its charter 102 Club event. Subregional libraries should plan to host their own events. Libraries that choose to participate are responsible for identifying interested patrons and managing their events.

Getting ready

Planning for the 102 Talking-Book Club event is essential to its success. Take time to review this manual, the 102 Club order form, your list of centenarian patrons, and your local media list. Familiarity with the available resources and guidelines will help you prepare for and conduct an effective publicity event.

The next step in the process is to assess your goals. The inherent goals of the 102 Talking-Book Club are to honor centenarian patrons and to increase awareness of the benefits of the talking-book program in your local community. You should consider the following:

To emphasize the special status of your 102 Club members, you may want to create special privileges for them. For example, the Colorado regional library staff created special "no-wait" borrowing privileges for the inductees. Prior to the recognition event, the library set up a service for the 102 Club members that would give them priority status on book reserve lists.

Selecting a date

As early as possible in your planning process, determine the appropriate date for your event. Sometimes the date of your event will be predetermined by the library's or NLS's schedule. Ideally you will be able to plan your recognition event for a time when you will have a good chance of winning media attention. Check your community's calendar to make sure that your event does not conflict with a more prominent activity that would steal attention from your program.

Generally the media recognize Monday as a slow news day. Scheduling an event for Monday may give you a publicity advantage. Also consider inviting political figures or local celebrities to your program, as these people will draw media and public attention.

Contacting your 102 Club candidates

After you have decided to host a 102 Club event, determined your goals, and selected a date for your event, you will want to contact your 102 Club inductees. NLS will send your library a list of patrons whose records show them to be one hundred years old or older. Some libraries have decided to invite all their inductees to the event, while others have focused on a few eligible members who live nearby. Your goals and available resources will determine how many inductees you invite. At previous events, patrons have greatly enjoyed meeting other people their age, so you may want to consider this when planning your event.

Plan on contacting at least one-third more people than you intend to host, as one-third of the people invited to any event often cannot make it. As every one of the patrons on your list should be a centenarian, some people you contact may be unable to travel to the library. Look for patrons who are active in their communities and who show a high interest in attending the 102 Club event. Some libraries have made transportation arrangements for those patrons who were able to attend but did not have the means to travel to the library.

Questions to ask 102 Club patrons

The aim of the 102 Talking-Book Club is to showcase centenarian patrons and their continued use of network library services. In contacting your patrons and gauging their interest in attending the 102 Club event, remember to ask them about their use of library services and their reading interests. Since the 102 Club is part of a publicity campaign, you need to ask patrons for their permission to release information about them and their use of library services to the media. The following is a suggested script:

  1. Our records show that you are [enter correct age] years old. Is this correct?
  2. The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped has launched a program to honor patrons who are one hundred years old and older. The program is called the 102 Talking-Book Club. The club was created to honor the achievements of our centenarian patrons and highlight their use of the talking-book and braille book services. Information about these patrons and their use of the library's services will be given to the media to promote the 102 Talking-Book Club. Would you like to be part of the club?
  3. Is there anything in particular that you would like to say about your use of the talking-book or braille book service? (The information you provide here may be given out to the media.)
  4. As a centenarian, is there anything you would like to say about your century of living experience?
  5. Has the talking-book program made a difference in your life?
  6. Are you a braille reader or do you use talking books?
  7. Do you use the library's services in other ways?
  8. What materials (types of books, magazines, newspapers, music, etc.) do you like to read?
  9. Are there any activities that the talking-book program allows you to do that you would otherwise have to give up?
  10. Are you active in your community in other ways?

Invitations

Some network libraries have chosen to send printed invitations or letters to their patrons regarding the 102 Club event. Patrons who read braille have been issued braille invitations.

Publicity lists

You may wish to compile a list of organizations and agencies that would be interested in attending or covering your event. Your list may include:

Note the primary contact person, key representatives, addresses, phone numbers, faxes, and e-mail addresses for every organization. This information is often available from government agencies, chambers of commerce, newspapers, telephone directories, and volunteers. Useful reference publications include Editor and Publisher Yearbook, National Directory of Community Newspapers, and Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook. In addition, NLS will send you a list profiling television and radio stations and public service cable outlets in your area.

Public relations campaign

Libraries are encouraged to promote their 102 Club events in the local media. Your media outlets may be interested in the hometown human-interest story of the 102 Club patrons, so you should be prepared to discuss how your patrons use the talking-book program and what it has meant to their lives. (Remember to get permission from your patrons before releasing personal information about their use of library services to the media.) Focus publicity on the remarkable lives of the patrons, their contributions, and their continued use of library services. Discuss the patrons' reading interests and relationships to the local communities.

For those libraries that require publicity support, NLS's national public relations firm, Fleishman-Hillard, is available to help with developing local media lists, preparing press releases, and pitching the event to media. To request support from Fleishman-Hillard, please check the "Request public relations support" box on the 102 Club order form.

Regional libraries

NLS representatives have attended the first recognition events held by network regional libraries to acknowledge the charter members of the 102 Talking-Book Club. Requests by regional libraries for an NLS representative to attend your 102 Club event must be submitted two months prior to the date of the event. Submit the 102 Club order form at least 60 days before your event.

Ordering materials

Plaque for 10-Squared Club Inductees to the 102 Club are presented with a certificate, letter, and pin from NLS at an induction ceremony. If patrons are unable to attend the induction ceremony, materials can be sent to them directly. Two months in advance of your ceremony, Pin for 10-Squared Club you will want to order a certificate, letter, and pin for each participating patron. Submit your request using the online 102 Club order form.

Web site profiles

Profiles and photos of the charter members of the 102 Club are posted to the NLS web site at www.loc.gov/nls/10squared/index.html. To have your library represented, send a brief profile of your patrons and a summary of your event with any available photographs to ldut@loc.gov after your event has occurred.

Future plans

102 Club members will be among the first patrons to receive the new digital talking-book players, which are designed to be readily accessible to our oldest patrons. Presentation of the machines to the members will offer another opportunity for media coverage.

102 Club contacts

A number of regional network libraries have already conducted 102 events and may be able to provide tips on planning your event. Libraries that have volunteered to be contacted regarding planning for a 102 Club event include:

Colorado Talking Book Library (CTBL)
Debbi MacLeod, director, (303) 727-9277
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
Kathleen Kappel, director, (412) 687-2440

Other questions regarding the 102 Club program and NLS materials may be directed to Lina Dutky, telephone (202) 707-9281. For further information, please contact:

Jane R. Caulton
Acting Head
Publications and Media Section
Library of Congress NLS/BPH
Telephone: (202) 707-0521
E-mail: jcau@loc.gov
Fax: (202) 707-0712