How a Louisiana Public Library Makes the Most of Their Movie License with Outdoor Events
In March 2020, when most of the world went on shutdown, so did the St. Charles Parish Library System, a six-branch and bookmobile system 20 miles outside of New Orleans. For two months while their buildings were closed, the library staff brainstormed ways to bring programming back to their patrons once they reopened in May. At the top of their list: outdoor movie events.
Taylor Robert, the library’s youth services assistant, said she was trying to program outdoor movies for some time pre-Covid. But once the pandemic hit – limiting their indoor event options – she said the rest of her co-workers got on board.
After filling out Swank’s request form and choosing her film, the next item on her to-do list was looking into rental services for the necessary equipment. “We found the cost to rent the equipment for one night was almost the same as purchasing it outright,” Robert said. Plus, the library had plans to host outdoor movie nights at other system branches if the event was successful. Luckily, the library already had a projector they could use, so they only had to buy a screen, sound system, generator and new Blu-Ray/DVD player.
There might be some additional guidelines libraries must follow for these events, so please check with your Swank account representative. But when it came time to figuring out the setup and safety logistics, Robert said it was actually helpful to have these guidelines so they had an outline on how to proceed. Robert found a building plan of their parking lot and measured spaces to figure out exactly how many cars or people could safely attend the event. Once she had her number, she created a checkerboard pattern of the parking lot so all guests would be properly spaced out. To help limit attendees, the library used their typical online RSVP platform.
“Hosting outdoor movies would be a big deal for us! With Swank, we were able to plan and offer this quickly to our patrons’ delight!” Taylor Robert, St. Charles Parish Library’s Youth Services Assistant
And while Robert initially saw this as a drive-in style event, she quickly realized patrons wouldn’t want to stay inside their cars, in the Louisiana heat, for the entire film. Luckily, the flexibility of these events meant the library could easily switch to a lawn-chair outdoor movie night. And with the help of staff members from a variety of departments – programming staff, maintenance and IT – their events went off without a hitch.
When selecting their films, Robert said they typically pick family-friendly titles that are timely and have a broad appeal to children, teens and adults. In total, the St. Charles Parish system has scheduled four screenings for their community: “Black Panther,” “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Coco,” and “Legend of the Guardians.” However, many more films will be shown outside the St. Charles Parish library’s walls as they plan to continue hosting outdoor movie events for the foreseeable future thanks to the amazing turnout and feedback they’ve received. “We’ve had patrons stop by before and after the event to let us know how much they enjoyed it and that we should do more!” said Robert. “We even received an email from a patron who attended our ‘Sonic’ showing, specifically thanking all the staff for putting on the event.”
In response to COVID-19, your library may qualify to show an outdoor movie on library property. Click here for more information.