Shake the Stacks! earns Seattle Public Library a "cool" image

A dark room, loud thumping music, colored lights swirling over the bodies of breakdancers: probably a typical night at a club, you think, but you would be wrong. The breakdancers are 15- and 16-year-old boys. The loud music is hip-hop. Shake the Stacks! is the event. The venue? The central branch of the Seattle Public Library (SPL) system.

Surprised? Many people often are.

Shake the Stacks! is the brainchild of Emily Dagg, young-adult librarian at the Lake City branch library, and Jeff Katz, the young-adult services coordinator of SPL. It's not just a single event or a limited number of shows, but an on-going program that brings local bands to either the central or University branch libraries for free, all-ages shows.

After numerous discussions between Katz and Dagg, they discovered two common desires: to extend library services to populations that weren't being served adequately and to make sure that kids have something safe and fun to do together.

"Shake the Stacks! is here to support all-ages music and teens in Seattle," said Katz.

According to Katz, when the idea of having live music at the library was pitched to SPL in 1999, it encountered some opposition.

Some stated that "it was not part of the library's mission to do music," Katz recalled.

With the main goal of drawing more young adult users to the library, the live-music idea eventually persevered, leading to Shake the Stacks!

On April 13, SPL presented a rap/hip-hop show at the central library. Though not as well-attended as the near-capacity shows of the past two years, there were still kids who danced to the music in the library.

In addition to the teen breakdancers, Antonie Patton Jr., 3, and Kea Johnson, 5, also got their grooves on as their mother and aunt watched.

Mimicking the breakdancers just a few feet away, Patton jumped and did somersaults, oblivious to the fact that he was getting all of the attention.

The featured performer of the night, a rapper known as Mr. Benjamin, brought all of the children (ages 3 to 8) present onto the stage. He rapped to them as they danced behind him, telling them to stay in school and not to do drugs.

April 13, 2001, was declared "Mr. Benjamin Day" by King County Executive Ron Sims. Mr. Benjamin was given this honor for his work in showing that rap "has the ability to be positive, uplifting and motivational" as well as for his commitment to education and youth.

As for the low turnout for Shake the Stacks!, Mr. Benjamin didn't mind much, even though he wasn't being paid for the gig.

"It's all for the kids," he said. "You gotta like that."

Several mothers at the show also liked the program, and agreed withMr. Benjamin.

Helen Powell, an avid library user, brought her 14-year-old son Michael to the show.

"I think [Shake the Stacks!] is a great opportunity for kids to hear music. It's a safe environment."

Powell also explained that Michael had complained to her that there weren't any hip-hop shows in Seattle that he could attend. When she found out about the hip-hop event, she decided to bring him.

"I didn't have any trouble getting him to come," she said.

As part of the effort to increase young-adult usage of the library, teens can also apply for library cards at Shake the Stacks!, as well as receive free books, stickers and CDs.

Another plus to attending the shows, besides the live music and free food, is receiving a Fresh Start slip. The slip will waive any overdue fines that have accumulated on a teen's library record. It's just another way of encouraging young adults to use the library, explained Darlene Nordyke, a young-adult librarian who helps put the shows together.

The efforts to draw in teenage users to the library are paying off. Sseveral teenagers commented that Shake the Stacks! was "cool."

One of Nordyke's goals for the program, she said, was to show teens "that the library isn't some boring place where you have to be quiet, where everyone's like, 'Shhh!'"

Remi Moyastreet, a 16-year-old attending Nathan Hale High School, had his opinion of the library changed by this event.

"I thought the library was supposed to be a quiet place. This is pretty cool!"