This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Brian Watt: So, Keith, your first shot really got me when I saw it. Tell me about it.
Keith Kesler: I just wanted something that kind of said, 'Hey, this is the Rams,' not like a specific event or game. I found the photo of the Rams player on the phone, and it hit me, Oh, that'd be kind of fun … the Rams giving San Francisco a call to say, 'Hey, how are you doing?'
Jaime Wong: I laughed when I first saw that post. Immediately, I thought it'd be funny if we could find something similar. But it just so happened that in our coffers, we happened to have a photo of a staffer wearing a vintage 49ers uniform [donated to the San Francisco History Center]. Wouldn't it be funny if we just said something along the lines of, 'Hey, you know we're tied up a little bit right now? We can't answer your call.'
I was checking out the Los Angeles Public Library. It looks to me like you have this thing that you do with book spines.
Kesler: So what it is, is you're kind of looking for titles of books that, when you stack them up, [they] will kind of read like a poem. It'll either say this is what's coming up in this game or a reflection back on a previous game. So for example, I just posted one for the upcoming Rams-Niners game, and so it's “Golden State Showdown. Forty-Niners Meet the Los Angeles Rams Gridiron Gauntlet.”
Jamie, San Francisco is a pretty erudite place. Do you feel like it's gotten into this act of lining up of book spines and sending subtle messages to your opponent?
Wong: Absolutely. This gives folks a chance to understand that libraries … they sometimes will have a little bit of a dusty reputation. A little, as you said, “erudite,” but [this] gives us a chance to show off that we have a sense of humor.
Kesler: The funny thing is you'll have people who are like, 'I'm not even watching this series, but I love what's going on here,' which cracks me up.
Since people want more, what is the plan for the posts during Sunday's game or afterward?
Kesler: I think some people have this conception that I'm at the library during the game, running to the stacks and putting these [posts] together live. But what I end up doing is mapping out all the possibilities that could happen that night and then having them ready to go, depending on what happens in the game.
Wong: Keith, are you telling us your play-by-play plan? I’m kidding! We'll have a surprise or two. Let's call it book spine poetry — plus.
