It’s not every day people try to escape from the library.
Since the end of January, though, patrons — young people, but not always as young as you might think — have been trying hard to escape from the Young Adult area of Starkville-Oktibbeha Public Library.
Or, more specifically, trying to find a way out of an escape room.
The room is the brainchild of Young Adult Librarian Daisey Martinez and is built on a theme drawn from the novel “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.”
“I had just started this job in September and was freaking out because I wanted to get teens into the library,” she said. “I had just finished watching season four of ‘Stranger Things,’ and I was inspired by that one scene of Max running to (the song ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)’ by Kate Bush).”
Martinez said she knew the series was popular with teens, and she was seeing the song all over TikTok. That gave her the idea.
“I had just done an escape room for the first time over the summer,” she said. “I did some research and saw other libraries have done it in other parts of the country, so that’s what I did.”
Martinez relied mostly on word of mouth to bring people in with the first escape room, and it quickly gained traction, bringing in about 75 people.
Pulling people into the library for non-traditional reasons is valuable, said Director Phillip Carter.
“While the books and materials we provide our patrons are incredibly important, providing engagement and exciting programming experiences for our patrons is a growing area of priority for us,” he said. “It’s a way to make sure people are being served not only in research and information needs, but in their leisure needs as well.”
Martinez said she knew she had a good idea when a local man who went through the “Stranger Things” escape room came back with his whole family.
“Afterwards the mom was so excited, and she told me she hadn’t been in the library in forever,” she said. “That’s a comment I hear a lot in general.”
The “Harry Potter”-themed room came about due to a request from a patron, Martinez said.
“I was asking for requests from patrons and these sweet, adorable 11-year-olds came up to me and one of them was reading (‘Prisoner of Azkaban’),” Martinez said. “They asked for a room based on that, and I said, ‘Heck, yeah, I will (do that),’ and their little faces lit right up.”
Although the room itself is decorated with a “Harry Potter” theme, the puzzles patrons have to solve don’t rely on knowledge of the series, Martinez said.
“I’ve had some patrons that have never read the books or seen the movies, and they still enjoyed it,” she said. “That was kind of my goal. The theme is more for die-hard fans that will appreciate it.”
Saturday morning two die-hard fans went through the escape room, and they told The Dispatch they definitely appreciated the theme.
Miriam Sisk, 24, and Ariana Rosado, 23, are both fans of the Potterverse and had a great time.
“We had so much fun,” Sisk said.
Rosado said she found out about the room via the library’s Facebook page and told Sisk about it.
“She mentioned it to me and I said heck yeah,” Sisk said. “We’ve both huge fans. I even have a Harry Potter wallet, but I didn’t bring it with me.”
Players are given 35 minutes to solve the room’s puzzles and find a key that unlocks a certain box. While most finish with a few minutes or even seconds to spare, Sisk and Rosado found a token giving a bonus five minutes just before solving the final puzzle, giving them a bit more than seven minutes remaining.
Think you can beat that time? The escape room is open when the library is open, and runs through Feb. 16. It is free, but players need to reserve a time in advance by calling the library at (662) 323-2766, emailing Martinez at [email protected] or visiting bit.ly/326escape on the web.
All ages can participate, but those 10 or younger need to be accompanied by an adult, Martinez said.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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