A party in the library isn't something that happens often, especially when it centers on a murder, but that's exactly what happened Thursday night in Schlow Center Region Library.
The story is typical of a murder mystery. A seemingly bitter and generally unfriendly woman with an aversion to rock-and-roll somehow finds herself the chairwoman of a "Battle of the Bands" committee, and is subsequently murdered. The event was appropriately titled "The Day the Music (Librarian) Died."
Participants were greeted with a packet of information on the unfortunate, recently deceased librarian, written descriptions of each suspect, and were allowed a few minutes to read through the information before the party began.
Library staff acted out the part of each suspect, and they ran the gambit of fellow librarians, aspiring musicians, and high school band directors. After introductions from the suspects, participants were free to look for clues.
The demographics were a bit unusual for a party here in State College. Only a few of the participants looked to be under 30, but that didn't stop the younger attendees from enjoying themselves.
"I don't go out drinking, but I solved the mystery about what to do on a Thursday night," Sarah Fay (senior- human development and family studies) said. "I enjoy having sober fun."
Most of the students in attendance shared Fay's sentiments, and seemed to enjoy the event.
"It's something different to do," Alexis Harris (graduate student- human development and family studies) said. "And it's a really diverse group of people, not just college kids."
One of the other participants, State College resident Julie Lemmon said that she had decided to attend because she considers herself a mystery fanatic and jumps at the chance to be involved in it.
"I gave up the Avon lady to come here because it sounded so interesting," she said, referring to her previous plans of meeting with an Avon representative that night.
Porsha Robinson found herself pleasantly surprised at how the event turned out.
"It's definitely a little different than how I thought it would be," Robinson (senior-economics) said. "I thought I would walk in and it would be all dark with simulated lightning."
Robinson also said that she is a big fan of "Murder, She Wrote" and wanted to try her hand at solving a mystery to see if she could do it too.
The entire event culminated in Fay's impassioned outburst at the reveal of the murderer.
"Was it worth it!?" she yelled at the murderer.
