NCSU Libraries Staff Flash Mob Raleigh City Museum!

On Thursday, January 26th, ten library staff members “flash mobbed” the Raleigh City Museum and cataloged 444 of their books.

The Raleigh City Museum, located in the historic Briggs Hardware Building in downtown Raleigh, “is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting the history of Raleigh, North Carolina's capital city.” The museum’s library collection was largely gathered in the process of researching specific exhibits, and it contains books on Raleigh and North Carolina history dating back to 1873.

Museum collections staff member Elizabeth Weichel contacted the library after hearing about past flash mob cataloging events at the Joel Lane House and local elementary schools. (See the video, Flash Mob! NCSU Libraries Storm Raleigh’s Oldest House .) According to Elizabeth, “With our limited resources, cataloging our entire library would have been a tremendous undertaking, but the flash mob got it all done in mere hours, allowing us to proceed with our goal of providing a Reading and Research Room that is open to the public.”

Library staff created the museum’s catalog using LibraryThing , a free online book cataloging service. Catalogers assigned “tags” to major topical categories to aid in finding resources. LibraryThing includes book covers, Library of Congress cataloging information (when available), and links to user reviews and author information. Museum staff can also add reviews and track circulation using the system.

This volunteer event was organized by the Libraries’ Community Service Committee, which provides opportunities for library staff to engage in group community service activities throughout the year. Library participants were Laura Abraham, Karen Ciccone, Kellie Burris-Walton, Liz Bell, Molly Renda, Rob E. Loomis, Barbara Weinberg, Jennifer Baker, Keisha Poole, and Charlie Pennel. Kellie Burris-Walton's husband, Grayson Walton, who is an employee at Raleigh City Museum, also helped.

You can view the Raleigh City Museum’s catalog in LibraryThing at http://www.librarything.com/profile/RaleighCityMuseum .