SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Petit Branch Library located in the Westcott area of Syracuse is home to matchmaker Lisa Bankert. So far, Bankert has successfully set up about 40 people with a mystery book. This isn’t your typical mystery book; the suspense comes from not knowing what book is being checked out.
This is the first time that Petit has ever hosted Blind Date with a Book. The program takes books that may not be that popular and wraps them up in a brown wrapping paper with heart stickers or put them in heart decorated gift bags. Talk about taking the term ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ to the next level.
The books in this program are broken up into three sections: children’s, teens, and adults. On the front of each hidden title is a description of the genre and the reading level. Once a book is checked out, the reader is allowed to take their mystery date home to unwrap and read.
“You don’t know what you’re getting,” Lisa Bankert said. “If it doesn’t work out you just bring the book back. You know it’s like the ultimate blind date.”
Those who participate in the program are given the opportunity to rate their book date.
The rating card lists:
- True Love
- Friend Zone
- Deja Vu
- It’s Complicated
- No Chemistry
“It’s similar to rating a date like on Tinder or any other Bumble… a dating site,” Bankert said.
Many readers even leave additional notes on the card.
“I loved the writing,” read one of the submitted It’s Complicated cards. “The poetry/prose, the complexity of the characters, but I had a hard time connecting with the mother of the central character.”
The idea of having a program like Blind Date with a Book stemmed from a similar event that Petit Branch Library offered during the pandemic. When readers couldn’t pick out their own books, Librarian Specials were offered. This allowed readers to write out what type of book they were looking for and the librarians would pick out a book and respond back with a letter on why they made that decision. With the success of that program, Bankert and others at Petit were excited to see the outcome of Blind Date with a Book.
“People are kind of like..hmm this is interesting,” Bankert said. “What’s this all about?”
Blind Date with a Book at Petit Branch Library will take place only during the month of February.
