Meet the mind behind Long Beach Public Library’s viral Gen-Z outreach

Published Nov 13, 2024 5:00 AM

A woman with light skin tone and medium-dark hair holds up a cell phone to use as a camera. She is peering from behind a shelf lined with books.

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The Long Beach Public Library knows how to speak the language of Gen-Z.

In a video that’s now gone viral, a professionally clad librarian gives viewers a tour of one of its branches.

“Library cards are free?” she exclaims. “Say less.”

Later, while carrying a stack of books, she adds: “Circ desk hates to see me coming.”

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“When you’re done at Long Beach Public Library,” she concludes, “take a hot girl walk though Lincoln Park and touch grass.”

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The video, which has been shared worldwide, has garnered nearly a half million likes — and viewers are clamoring for more.

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A post shared by Long Beach Public Library (@lbcitylibrary)

It’s the brainchild of Brandi O’Kelley, a Virginia-born millennial who makes her home in the Bluff Heights neighborhood of Long Beach.

O’Kelley runs the library’s social media accounts, and she’s in the habit of using humor to tell readers about what’s available to them — whether it’s “LitLoot” bags for students in grades 7-12 or, more recently, celebrations around Latin American Heritage Month.

“I spent a lot of time online, like, a lot — but, in my defense, it's part of my job,” O’Kelley said.

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Plan Your Visit

Billie Jean King Main Library | Website
Library hours:
- Sunday & Monday: Closed
- Tuesday & Thursday: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- Wednesday: Noon – 6 p.m.
- Friday & Saturday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Address: 200 W. Broadway Long Beach, Calif.
Admission: Free
Good to know: Here's how to get a library card, and here is a map of all the branch libraries.

O’Kelley is not the star of the library’s new hit; that’s a colleague who O’Kelley recruited. The librarian, who declined LAist’s request for an interview, “is very camera shy,” O’Kelley said. “I’m surprised she said yes.”

A woman with light skin and multicolored blond and brown hair and pink pants looks at her phone in a library aisle.

O’Kelley’s goal is to draw more readers to the system’s 12 branches, including the Billie Jean King Main Library, a majestic two-story building with floor-to-ceiling windows that fill the space with light that LAist toured on Tuesday.

Together, O’Kelley and her colleague told locals about the library's recording studio, laptop kiosk, and other key resources.

“I had seen the trend going around, with older people using Gen-Z slang, and I just thought it was so funny,” she added.

When writing the script for the video, O’Kelley said: “I had to do a little bit of digging, because I'm a millennial.” To get the language right, she consulted with an expert:

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“I asked my little sister about a couple things, like, ‘Does this make sense?’”

O’Kelley’s efforts paid off.

But, this time around, the work exceeded her expectations. She’s been monitoring comments on the viral video, and some of them surprise her.

“There are people from, like, New Zealand, Sweden, and England saying, ‘Oh, if I'm in America, I'm going to Long Beach!’” she said, laughing. “It’s all very positive.”