Final report by Joel White, Children’s services manager, south regional library
Books in Barbershops
& Salons
In celebration of National Book Month, Durham County Library launched a literacy campaign, Books in Barbershops & Salons (BIBS), as part of the Friends of the Library 2019 Staff Proposal Project Grants. This reading initiative is designed to encourage children and teens to read while waiting for barber and salon services. With average wait times usually between 30 minutes to over an hour in some cases, children and teens become restless and often spend time on their phones or watching TV to pass the time. The BIBS initiative provides a reading alternative to encourage them to use this time discovering great books and engaging stories. Thanks to this generous funding from the Friends, three sites have been set-up with brand new children’s and teen book collections and bookcases to house them. As part of this pilot project, the following locations have received collections:
Gail’s Hair Salon
3208 Guess Rd.
Durham, NC 27705
The Renaissance Barbershop
7001 Fayetteville Rd. #131
Durham, NC 27713
Nice Trim Barbershop & Salon
4600 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd. #28
Durham, NC 27707
In order to incentivize children to read, those caught “reading while waiting” receive a “BIBS Buck,” which they can turn in to their service provider to receive a $1 discount on their barber/salon service. They also have the option to exchange their reward for a prize from a “BIBS Treasure Chest” (also provided by the grant).
As the Project Manager of BIBS, I am very excited about its potential. In pursuit of our Durham County Library mission “… to lead in literacy,” we need to identify non-traditional places to expand our reach. We must meet kids in places where they frequent. Barbershops and salons are opportune places to reach such a captive audience. My hope is to eventually expand the program to other Durham shops and salons. As an added benefit, many of the titles selected feature African American characters or are written by African American authors.