Posted By Elise on September 15, 2010
As my glorious return to blogging, I present a murder mystery.
In the summer of 2009, my director asked me to run a murder mystery in the library. The library staff agreed this would be a great way to get students into the library.
In September 2009, I ran a murder mystery based on this example. This is a great murder mystery template! I tweaked the clues to work in my much smaller library. Clues were placed in envelopes and hidden among the stacks.
The overall event was a success. The 12 or so students who showed up loved the event and talked about it for the rest of the weekend. With that vote of confidence, I planned my next murder mystery for fall 2010.
I scoured the internet this summer, hoping to find another template I could tweak for my library. I kept coming back to Gould Library’s game. After fruitless searches, I accepted I would have to write my own mystery.
I did not know the first thing about writing a murder mystery. This time, my research was successful and I found Hosting a Library Mystery by Elizabeth M. Karle. This book was invaluable. Not only did it give guidelines for a good mystery, it gave examples!
Armed with this book and an idea of what my storyline would be, I started on my clues. My mystery would be searching for a fictitious visiting scholar, Dr. Ima Gonner, who went missing a few days prior to the event. Dr. Gonner was studying John Wesley, as I’m at a Methodist college. I hoped participants would pick up a bit of Methodist history in the process of learning about some library resources.
Setting up the event was minimal. I had printed the clues and color coded them in advance (each team was designated a color). I knew the books they would use were on the shelves, waiting. The online catalog computers would be available. I had two student employees run through the clues to find any inconsistencies two weeks prior. Prizes had been waiting in my office for weeks. No one needed to be in character or costume for this event.
Last year’s event was held on a Friday night. Friday nights did not work out for me this year, so we held the event on a Friday afternoon. Turnout was low, but all participants had a great time.
When participants arrived in the library, I gave them the story of the missing Dr. Gonner and handed each team their first clue and a pen. Teams had to use library resources to answer the clues on their cards. When they found an answer, they had to come back to the front desk to get their next clue. In theory this worked well. In practice, teams still wound up on the same clue at the same time–problematic when they were using a book! I tried to balance a book in the stacks clues to book in the reference room clues to online resources clues.
Once each team found all 12 clues and had the answers written on their cards, they had to fill out a crossword puzzle using those answers. Certain letters were circled in those crossword puzzles. Teams then had to unscramble those circled letters to find out where Dr. Gonner had gone.
Below are my clues and answers:
To better understand Israel’s society prior to Jesus’ time, Dr. Gonner consulted Social World of Ancient Israel, 1250-587 BCE, DS112 .M333 1993. What are the three varieties of prophetic pantomime listed in this book (in a grey box)?
Prophet as actor, prophet as ascetic, prophet as docent
In the play script Journey to Jerusalem, what is the name of the actor who played Shadrach as listed in the book? What is the call number for the play?
PS3501 N256 J6 1940, Charles de Sheim
Dr. Gonner had looked for the birth of Methodism in America. According to the article Historic churches abound in the Delmarva Peninsula found in the ProQuest Historical Newspaper The New York Times database, what is the name of the cradle of Methodism in the US? When was it built?
Barratt’s Chapel, 1784
Good works are a part of Methodism. In A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature Ref PR149 .B5 D53 1992, who is described as ‘a street preacher who “calls” to “the sons of man” …entreating them to forsake folly and follow her” in the entry about vocation?
Divine Wisdom
John Wesley’s brother Charles was a driving force in the establishment of Methodism. Who co-wrote the ebrary ebook Charles Wesley: A Reader?
John R. Tyson
Dr. Gonner studied Wesley’s anti-slavery stance. In the book Though the Heavens May Fall: The Landmark Trial that Lead to the End of Human Slavery KD 379 .S669 W57 2005, who owned Jesus of Lubeck?
Queen Mary
Dr. Gonner read that John Wesley loved a good piece of toast but hated when it fell on the floor. In the book Why Toast Lands Jelly-side Down, what is the name of the experiment that explains the title phenomenon? What is the call number for this book?
QC33 E55 1997, Jelly side down
Religion is entwined with morality. According to the book The Trial of Man: Christianity and Judgement in the World of Shakespeare PR3011 .B47 2003, what character speaks about morality and how easy it is to know what is good and how hard it is to do good? In what play does this character appear?
Portia, Merchant of Venice
Dr. Gonner was looking for bits of John Wesley’s childhood stories. In The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, what is the name of the ghost in John Wesley’s childhood home of Epworth Rectory? What is the call number of this book?
Old Jeffrey, REF BF1461 G85 1992
Dr. Gonner had researched Methodism education in the US and used the book The Methodists and Revolutionary America 1760-1800. In what state was the first Methodist college, Cokesbury, founded? What is the call number for this book?
Maryland, BX8236 A53 2000
Dr. Gonner had looked in Grace Sufficient: A History of Women in American Methodistm 1760-1939 to find who was the first woman ordained in the US. What is the woman’s name? What is the call number for this book? ______ ________ Shaw
BX8345.7 S35 1999, Anna Howard Shaw
The circle letters in the crossword lead to the location of the first Methodist prayer meeting in the United States, Peeper Island. Dr. Gonner had left for Peeper Island.
Due to low turn out this year and the time I had invested in an event that would take an hour and a half, we’ve decided against another mystery. Take my example and see what mysteries you can write!
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