Passively Recommending Books

  Libraries aren't the only places to find great book displays and book lists. Independent book stores often have staff who are passionate about the books they love and clever at coming up with compelling book displays that put the focus on getting great books faced out so their customers can discover them. Take a look at your local indie bookstore or check out the websites and social media accounts of stores across the country. See how they use humor and unexpected combinations to promote and market the books in their stores. Give them credit if you borrow their ideas and include details about how your patrons can find them.  One of my favorites is Gibson's Bookstore in Concord, NH. You can view their displays on their Instagram account for some inspiration. Their displays are book focused, clever, and memorable. One of their more genius ideas is that their past displays and curated book lists are available on their website. If a customer saw a title on a display but missed

I think that it's always easier to plan out your book displays and lists in advance. That gives you time to see what will and will not work with your collection as well as time to develop some of them into passive programs. Some will work better as online lists or social media posts depending upon your physical and digital collections. But don't forget to mention your digital collections in your library on the book displays. Never assume that patrons are aware of all the services you provide.  First step is to consider the basics that come up every month. Read this post for a list.  August doesn't have big national holidays to consider. But there are some fun celebration weeks and celebration days that can lead to great displays.  LibraryReads has released their August list. Voted on by library workers, it's a great way to have a regular display with upcoming titles that are diverse and which will include a variety of genres. You can expand it with other books by the a

  I strongly encourage you to develop a plan in advance for what displays and lists you will put up for each month. They will be less daunting and it will allow you to distribute the task of setting them up among library staff. This will also allow for double-checking to make certain that the titles you will include are diverse and that you avoid perennial best selling authors who don't need our help promoting their books.  There are a few steps that you can follow every month to start your planning.  What programs for adults, teens, and children are planned? Book displays can be used to promote your program as well as market your backlist to patrons. Include signage and flyers about the programs.  Does your local government (city, county, village, township...) have any events that you can promote with a book display? Make a list of your digital titles that relate and link to the page online that has details about the event.  Are there national holidays or days of celebration/comme

  When making up your book displays, don't forget to reach out to those staff who work all over your library or library system. You may have someone in facilities who loves space operas and can craft a list of the best in your collection. There may be someone in the business office who is an avid baker and can help you pull new books about baking you have overlooked. Various kinds of library workers may have done deep dives into areas of history, culture, fiction, or film that you are unfamiliar with. I have someone on staff who annually creates a display about heavy metal and we rock into fall. I could look up items of course but it's a fun way to break up routine and those who are invested in a subject or genre can pull out gems that you might not find.  While your library may have rules about who can perform which tasks, any library worker can give input and make suggestions about what lists or displays you create. It's another way to diversify which parts of your backli

  Hungers as Old as This Land by Zachary Rosenberg My rating: 5 of 5 stars This horror western is a fast read and it's a testament to Rosenberg's talents that readers seem to be left wanting more of both the world he's created and his characters. What could be a typical western plot of a good town facing invasion by bad men is made fresh with strong female characters, a town established as a haven for Jewish settlers, and bargain between a small town and monsters hiding in the nearby mountains. There is great character development with the two main characters being tough women who can take care of themselves and hold their ground. It's a rich novella that packs a lot into its pages. I can't wait to read something else from this author. View all my reviews

  This where I say-  use what I have here or don't. Whatever. There are many options for this kind of generational display. You could look for books published during a defined time period, for Gen X  you could use the late 70's through late 90's. But don't be doctrinaire, there are plenty of books by members of Generation X that are set during that time period or which have the sense or flavor of that generation. If someone else on staff disagrees with your choices, invite them to add their own choices. Ask patrons for their suggestions on your social media or in your library. You can add some non-fiction about significant events that took place in the 80's and 90's. There are plenty of examples of terrifying things that took place during those years. Also, check your DVD collection and add some of those. Goosebumps was first published in 1992... For a passive program, add one for Baby Boomers, Millennials, and Gen Z. Let your patrons fight it out and read some

Many library workers are doing multiple jobs or working short staffed. The idea of creating different book displays every month can seem daunting. Never fear! You can borrow ideas from all of those marketing emails that publishers and vendors send you daily. Use the subject line and go from there. Don't feel as if you are obligated to include every book that was in the original list. The purpose of your book displays is to market your existing collection, not to exactly copy someone else's list. I pulled some ideas from today's marketing emails and have suggested some titles and resources to get you started. What do they mean? What should you put on them? Whatever you have in your collection that will work. The idea is to market your collection and get books faced out where your patrons can see them.  Wedding Themed Mysteries and Thrillers Grief is a Complicated Journey  The Music of the Night  - Phantom of the Opera inspired romance novels Prioritize Your Mental Health - M

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese is on the top of holds lists, helped by Oprah's selection of the title as her 101st book club pick . We can't buy copies to immediately fill every hold but you can both advertise your holds list and suggest titles from your collection at the same time.  If your library has copies in your digital collection, include a QR code or information about that service in the display. Never assume that a patron knows about all of your services. If they come into your library, visit your website, or social media looking for this title, you can show them how to get on the request list while also pointing out that there are great books to read in the meantime.  Ebsco's Novelist is a good tool to use for discovering read-alikes, if your library subscribes. There are read-alikes listed and you can use the "appeal factors" (things like genre, time period, tone, writing style etc) to find similar enough titles in your collection. If you do

Every author, regardless of whether they are self published or on one of the big five presses struggles with how to promote their books. LIbraries can help and that's mostly what I talk about here but I thought I would share some of what I heard at this panel. This won't be an exact transcript of what was said but I will share some of what was shared. I didn't write it up as a simple script because my notes are not a complete transcript. I can assure you that none of the wisdom below is mine and all comes from the panelists.  The panel was moderated by Emily Hughes  and included: Becky Spratford  (readers advisory expert, librarian, Horror Writers Association [HWA] secretary, and reviewer), Janine Cross  (author, HWA volunteer), Jordan Hanley (Tor Nightfire marketing manager), Solomon Forse (founder of the Howl Society, author), and Nat Cassidy  (actor, writer, musician). The panel discussed what has worked for them as far as promotion is concerned and what outlets and pl