GW Law Library: Library Guides: Lawlapalooza: A Research Odyssey: Make it Fun!

The goal of the research fair has always been to interact with students in an informal environment. We want students to enjoy the event, connect with library staff as a friendly resource, and step away from the academic stresses if even just for a few minutes. With each year we've tried to tweak the event to make it more inviting. By 2017 we realized we had a successful format that students regarded as a welcome distraction. This awareness allowed us to focus on the fun factor in recent years. Incorporating the social media campaign as part of the fair in 2018 created an opportunity to encourage students to interact visibly with the library. We held gift card drawings specific to social media interactions and at lead-up events provided buttons and selfie props for students to use as part of the contest. Moreover, at the research fair, we created a photo booth to encourage social media interactions specific to the event. Our tenth annual Lawlapalooza in 2019 was a showcase of library creativity and personality. In addition to library buttons, pizza, coffee, and the gift card drawing, we added a spin-and-win prize wheel. Because the research fair was held on February 13th, the prize wheel was themed for Valentine's Day. Students could spin the wheel and win a prize; to make it a hands-down positive experience, landing on any wedge resulted in winning a prize or an opportunity to spin again in order to claim a prize. Prizes included law-related conversation heart buttons affixed to library check-out cards, soda, GW Library swag, snacks (Hershey hugs and kisses and gummy bears) in packaging crafted from pages of GW Law Review issues, assorted bags of nuts packaged in library card holders with a custom, "I Go Nutz 4 Nutshells!" label, teddy grahams (from J.Cub, the library's teddy bear mascot) in custom-made library card holders (also made from recycled pages of the GW Law Review), and a mystery prize in a balloon that the winner had to pop to reveal. Students really enjoyed spinning the wheel, which resulted in spirited and memorable interactions.