Meetings Ahead
Most meetings are being held in person, but some are still remote or virtual. Go to eastham-ma.gov/calendar-by-event-type/16 and click on the meeting you are interested in to learn about meeting locations and any remote options that may be offered.
Thursday, Sept. 1
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 5 p.m., Town Hall
Tuesday, Sept. 6
- State Primary Election, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Town Hall
- Historical Commission, 10 a.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 7
- Community Preservation Act Committee, 5 p.m., Town Hall
Conversation Starters
Check It Out
Your local librarian is on TikTok, and it’s not because he’s sharing pranks on his personal account.
The library produces new TikTok videos several times a week to highlight programs, events, book titles, art shows, and other library resources such as jigsaw puzzles and video games. The videos, typically about a minute long, have the jump-cut style, quirky audio tracks, and appliqué graphics typical of the medium.
“TikTok is the most-used social media platform for people under the age of 35,” says staff librarian Corey Farrenkopf, the driving force behind the campaign. “Newspapers are basically dying and not taking any of our information anymore,” he added.
TikTok’s billion or so users check it on average 19 times a day to share and watch 15-second to 3-minute videos. One quarter of its users are ages 10 to 19 and young people in the U.S. spend an average of 87 minutes per day on the app.
Farrenkopf and Library Director Melanie McKenzie believe Eastham is the first library on Cape Cod to make extensive use of TikTok. For some videos, Farrenkopf has dressed up in a wizard costume, while in another he plays “air guitar.” The videos are produced using a hand-held cell phone, with scrounged costumes and props. Members of the library staff have played cameo roles.
The tone is decidedly corny. “I like that we caricature ourselves on TikTok,” Farrenkopf says. Videos are typically viewed by hundreds of online users.
The strategy seems to be working, according to McKenzie. So far, books promoted on TikTok get checked out more often than books featured on the library’s more traditional website.
The video that has gotten the most “hits” was the one highlighting the Eastham Library’s study carrels overlooking Depot Pond, an attractive feature of the modern building, which got a $10-million redesign in 2016. —Terry Gallagher
