Unshelve with Mini-Reviews from Your Staff and Patrons

 

Another great idea from my local indie bookstore, Tombolo Books, is something that you might find in other indie bookstores. These shelf readers have a paragraph with a brief review including a tiny bit of plot and why the reader loved it. This is a way to provide passive readers advisory with even staff who work behind the scenes involved. Put the title of the book, the author, and a QR code to your online catalog so patrons can place a hold. If you own the book in your digital collection, add a link to that to the card as well. 

Spread the shelf readers around your collection - include non-fiction, youth, young adult, & large print as well. Don't forget to spotlight some of your A/V collection as well. 

Because these are written in advance, they can be reviewed before they are posted, anything that needs to be corrected can be changed before the public sees them. This would include your patron written blurbs. Either set up a an email address where patrons can review their favorite reads or have a box where they can drop their written reviews. You can either put them on the shelves or set up a specific display where your patrons can see what others thought. 

As with all passive advisory tools, remember that bestsellers and authors/titles in high demand don't need our promotional help. Have staff make shelf talkers about titles they loved which need some more help finding their readers. Staff who are fans of specific subjects or genres can help readers with similar tastes find hidden gems in your stacks. 

 

Unshelve Yourself for Labor Day

(The menace known as Stuffing)

 Today is Labor Day in the United States so I'm spending the day at home with my bunnies and some books. Tomorrow we will continue to look at some ideas from my local independent bookseller. 

Unshelve With Help from LibraryReads

 What is LibraryReads? From their website: 

LibraryReads is the monthly nationwide library staff picks list for adult fiction and non-fiction. Our goal is to help connect readers to as many books as possible, while drawing upon the incredible power that public library staff has in helping to build word-of-mouth for new books, and the important role that libraries play in creating audiences for all kinds of authors.

Anyone who works in an American public library is eligible to vote after they register with either NetGalley or Edelweiss. The monthly list of winners is published on their website. That list can be used to promote your holds list and to encourage patrons to place holds on upcoming titles. (This helps your library see in advance which titles will be popular.) This is something that we can definitely borrow from independent bookstores. St Petersburg's Tombolo Books features upcoming titles on their website. 

(Tombolo Books upcoming release wall)

NoveList provides readalikes for each title on the Top Ten list. Those can be used to build out a display of backlist titles similar to the upcoming titles. Remember that each book can be approached in different ways so be creative. A book with similar vibest is close enough. 

You can also use their archive to find backlist titles for a display. 

Since the monthly list is a national staff picks list, pair the list with your own staff's picks for a given month. Make sure that you encourage everyone to participate, regardless of where their work or what their title is. Gibson's Books in Concord, NH features staff picks on their website and so does Tombolo Books. 

Unshelve With Help from Booklist - Body Horror

Editor Susan Maguire at ALA's Booklist has a piece up about body horror. 

"Bodies are gross. They’re squishy and floppy, and that’s on a good day. In these horror writers’ imaginations, bodies—especially those of women and trans people—become something else entirely. They are transformed, mutilated, beset by eldritch creatures and unnatural appetites. These body-horror books are not for the squeamish, but those who dive in will be rewarded with thought-provoking, worldview-changing terrors"

Body horror is a great way to showcase horror by and about women, LGBTQ+ people, and other marginalized people, especially if your state or local laws make overtly focusing on these groups difficult. More extreme forms of horror are having their day and should be popular with your patrons. Use these titles as a starting point. 

Over on RA for All Horror, Becky Spratford has several posts on body horror with some other titles you can use for inspiration. 

 

ALA Collection Development Crash Course

I'm excited to be presenting for ALA Continuing education again. On Thursday, September 3, I will be presenting one part of the Collection Development Crash Course. You will learn the fundamentals of adult fiction collection development including information about genre, how to find titles, purchase them, and promote your collection. 

• Developing the Adult Fiction Collection with Lila Denning: Thursday, September 3, 2026 at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30pm Central/12:30pm Mountain/11:30am Pacific
  
  
• Developing the Youth Collection with Julie Jurgens: Thursday, September 10, 2026 at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30pm Central/12:30pm Mountain/11:30am Pacific
  
  
• Developing the Adult Nonfiction Collection with Stephanie Sendaula: Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30pm Central/12:30pm Mountain/11:30am Pacific
  
  
• Weeding Popular Materials Collections with Karen Toonen: Thursday, September 24, 2026 at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30pm Central/12:30pm Mountain/11:30am Pacific
  
  You can find information about the entire series here. I hope to see you in class!

Unshelving When Inclusive Displays Make People Uncomfortable

 As many of you know, changes to laws in places like Arkansas and Florida are making passive readers advisory more challenging. There are legitimate reasons for library workers to be concerned. 

The most basic way to deal with this is to follow what I wrote in RUSQ in an article called "Inclusion as the Norm: The Power of Diverse Book Displays." I posted about it here including a link to the article which is free for anyone to read. Every book display or other passive readers advisory tool should include a wide variety of authors and publishers. Patrons are as curious as we are and want to find great books. Many of them are written by diverse authors. 

Promote the final book in the Harlem Trilogy, Colson Whitehead's Cool Machine , by putting up read alikes and books about New York City and 80's history. Add information about your holds lists and you will be spotlighting a book by an award winning author without mentioning anything that will draw activist attention. You can create a sign that says something about "While You Wait for This New Release" and a smaller sign with the name & author. Change it out regularly, using a wide variety of authors. 

Being more general with signage is a way to promote books without creating negative situations for staff. Try using - 

1960's History - There are likely many books on your shelves, fiction and non-fiction, that you can use. There are years like 1965, 1968, and 1969 in which there were many significant events. 

Step Into Their Shoes - Focus on biographies and memoirs

Places Far and Wide- Use fiction and non-fiction by international authors and books about places outside the United States

Even a display like this one for The Day of the Cowboy could have books about the Black, Chinese, and Native Experience during the Western Expansion. Don't forget books about women and the West. By doing this you are including many experiences rather than just one. 

There is also the option of not using a sign. Make your book displays mini-collections with lots of faceouts. The covers of the books will draw attention to the titles. I realize that creating signage is enjoyable for staff but if there is fear in your administration, it might be easier to forget it. Use easels on the shelves and focus on a book at the service desks. 

The purpose of a display is to merchandise your collection and help patrons find their next great read. The battle over libraries and the freedom to read will continue in the courts and legislatures. We can still promote our entire collections and the wide variety of books in those collections. 

Remembering Dolly Parton

 Iconic songwriter, philanthropist, actress, and singer Dolly Parton died yesterday. When a famous person dies, patrons will often seek out materials by and about that person. On her website, she lists books she's written as well as her filmography and discography. There have also been books written about her. One relatively recent book that had many holds in my library system is Dolly Parton Songteller: My Life in Lyrics written by Dolly with Robert K. Oermann. 

Beyond her own works, don't overlook books about her peers in country music and the Grand Ole Opry. There are also non-fiction and fiction titles about Tennessee and Tennessee history that you can add. 

To make this an interactive display or passive program, partner with a local agency that distributes books and honor Dolly's Imagination Library by collecting new and gently used books for children. They can be either distributed by your local literacy agency or your library can hold an event and distribute them. If you add a label with your library's information on it, you can distribute them to laundromats, barbershops, beauty parlors, churches, and other places where your community will find them.