NCLA 2013 Presentation. Interactive murder mysteries are a fun and creative way to bring patrons into your library. Learn how to present a mystery night program from start to finish and how to best tailor it to your library. We’ll cover writing a script, choosing your victim, staging the scene, casting your suspects and more.

1. How to get
away

2. Why should you listen
to us?
Becky Peterson, Alamance County Public
Libraries
Rebekah Scott, Alamance County Public
Libraries increasingly successful original mystery
years of
5
night
programs
2012 – 60 tickets were gone within
3
hours.
2013 – doubled the number of performances to increase
tickets from
60 to 120 (we still sold out)

3. How did we get here?
2007 – Purchased a good script
2008 – Purchased a terrible
script
2009 – We can do this!

4. How our programs
work

5. What is your goal?

6. To instruct?

7. To entertain?

8. Know your library

9. Know your space

10. Know your staff

11. Know your audience

12. Know your limits

13. Choose your setting

14. Choose your victim

15. Choose your
suspects

16. Choose your
motives

17. Choose your
evidence

18. Choose your killer

19. Choose your tell

20. Clever, not obvious

21. Plan your timeline

22. Write the script

23. Create your evidence

24. Cast your roles

25. Things to consider

26. Attendance

27. Fundraising?

28. Open or closed?

29. Costs

30. Publicity

31. Show time!

32. Draw the line

33. Stay in character

34. Record for
posterity

35. Have fun!

36. Too busy to write?

37. Purchase a script
www.librarymurdermysteries.com
www.librarymysteries.com

38. Questions?

39. Photo Credits
1.
2.
3.
4.
Stock.xchng/red dripping paint/sachyn
Stock.xchng/Headphone/KillR-B
Stock.xchng/Break Water/G_FORDHAM
Stock.xchng/Like Sands Through the
Hourglass/moonfire8
5. Stock.xchng/b/w basketball hoop 3/wvubush
6. Stock.xchng/Back to School/ywel
7. Stock.xchng/Colorful Music/Avolore
8. Stock.xchng/public library 2/danjaeger
9. Flickr/Meeting Room Grey Cropped/BAKOKO
10. Stock.xchng/crowder/SaMe-GFX
11. Stock.xchng/audience/takje
12. Flickr/Speed Limit 35/Nathan Jongewaard
13. Stock.xchng/Chair on empty beach/Chemtec
14. Flickr/Chalk Outline/Ben Smith
15. Flickr/The Usual Jellies/Carl Jones
16. Stock.xchng/Brown Envelope Money Bribe
001/darrendean
17. Stock.xchng/Thumb Impression/asifthebes
18. Stock.xchng/Pavement in against days/cecilegeng
19. Stock.xchng/-Solution-/spekulator
20. Stock.xchng/Innovation/raja4u
21. Stock.xchng/All in Time/cozgrl05
22. Stock.xchng/We are drawing/nkzs
23. Stock.xchng/Wooden Pencils In Line/iprole
24. Flickr/rock me,/roujo
25. Flickr/One Done/Daniel Kulinski
26. Flickr/admit one: san Francisco
(2012)/torbakhopper
27. Flickr/Money/401(k) 2012
28. Flickr/Restaurant’s “Sorry we’re Closed”
sign/Nick Papakyriazis
29. Stock.xchng/The Pig/Penny Matthews
30. Stock.xchng/Empty Billboard/asifthebes
31. Flickr/Spotlight/Judy van der Velden
32. Stock.xchng/Draw the Line!/nkzs
33. Stock.xchng/~Mask~/AMA90
34. Stock.xchng/Old Camera/porah
35. Stock.xchng/At the Carnival 2/k_vohsen
36. Screencap from my computer
37. Stock.xchng/Typewriter With Screen/tomdavies
38. Flickr/Questions/Oberazzi