The Excelsior Branch Library is hosting karaoke night, and before you roll your eyes at another quirky San Francisco public programming decision, hear us out.

The Excelsior branch is doing something a lot of civic institutions struggle with: getting people through the door.

When a neighborhood library figures out a low-cost way to draw in residents who might not otherwise visit — residents who might then discover the actual library resources available to them — that's not waste. That's marketing.

The Excelsior is one of SF's most diverse and tight-knit neighborhoods, the kind of community where a free karaoke night can genuinely bring people together across age, language, and background. Libraries in neighborhoods like this serve as de facto community centers, and if belting out "Don't Stop Believin'" among the stacks gets a few more families signed up for library cards, that is a good night's work.

Sing your hearts out, Excelsior. Just return your books on time.