By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

LAPLACE – The St. John the Baptist Parish Library’s LaPlace branch showed the world that library activities don’t have to be hushed, studious affairs.

On Tuesday, the library became part of a popular trend by recording its very own “Harlem Shake” video on Tuesday afternoon.

Local children and teens were invited to create their own “Read” posters using materials supplied by the library. Participants then moved out among the stacks to record the video, using their posters and an assortment of other props. The recording was done in two takes.

Carly Maurin, a reference assistant at the library, said she and other staff members thought it would be fun to participate in the trendy video sensation since the library already offers many fun and interesting summer reading projects for children, such as the Gnome Project and the “I Dig” series.

Maurin also designs puppets and props in her spare time. A couple of her pieces are featured in the video.

“Why not do it? I think it would be good for the library’s publicity, to stick it on the website and say ‘Oh we’re a fun library, we like to dance and carry on…but we’re also serious about reading,’” said Maurin. “I’m just hoping to see a good turnout. Ultimately, I’m just looking to provide some fun for the kids during the summer while they’re out of school.”

According to KnowYourMeme.com, the “Harlem Shake” video phenomenon was initiated in January when video blogger Filthy_Frank uploaded a episode that features four people dressed in latex suits dancing to Baauer’s “Harlem Shake,” a heavy bass instrumental track.

The video garnered a response from millions of people around the world who created their own spoof videos.

The key element in each video was that they all began with a masked individual dancing alone in a group before suddenly cutting to a wild dance party featuring the entire group.

Despite its name, the song is not to be confused with a hip hop dance style of the same name, as the videos present a wide range of dance styles.

The video will be available to view on the library’s website and YouTube account in the future.

For more information on summer activities in St. John Parish, visit the library’s website at www.stjohn.lib.la.us.