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

In a video that has gone viral, a professionally dressed librarian gives viewers a tour of one of its branches.

“Are library cards free?” » she exclaims. “Say less.”

Later, while carrying a stack of books, she adds: “The circulation office hates to see me coming. »

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

The video, which has been shared around the world, has garnered almost half a million likes – and has viewers wanting more.

It’s the brainchild of Brandi O’Kelley, a Virginia-born millennial who lives in Bluff Heights.

O’Kelley manages the library’s social media accounts and she has a habit of using humor to explain to readers what’s on offer – whether it’s “LitLoot” bags for 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.

O’Kelley is not the star of the library’s new success; he was a colleague that 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.”

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

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

Brandi O’Kelley

“I had seen the trend spreading, 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 digging, because I’m a millennial. » To find the right language, she consulted an expert:

“I asked my little sister about several things, like, ‘Does this make sense?'”

O’Kelley’s efforts paid off.

But this time, the work exceeded his expectations. She monitors the comments on the viral video and some of them surprise her.

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