May Book Display Ideas

 May has a variety of traditional and more adventurous reasons to set up book displays. Remember that you should use your programs and local events as inspiration as well. 

Here are some suggestions for May book displays: 

  • May Day- There are a variety of reasons to celebrate May day. It's the traditional start to summer. You could use Midsommer (the film) as an inspiration and include some non-fiction on wicca in addition to folk horror. 
    It's also International Workers' Day which would mean titles about the labor movement and work in general. 
  • Star Wars Day: May the 4th be with you - Don't limit this display to just Star Wars films and titles. Look for other space operas in your collection which could use some exposure and put out some read alikes and watch alikes for Star Wars. 
  • Mother's Day (2nd Sunday)- Besides the more obvious fiction and non-fiction about mother/child relationships and mothering in general, think about a "Bad Mothers" display. Books like Clay McLeod Chapman's What Kind of Mother can be used for this kind of display. (It would also be a great title for a display.)
  • Harvey Milk Day- Pride isn't just for June. Remember the openly gay man to be elected to public office in California by putting up a display about the LGBTQ+ rights struggles of the 70's, California in the 70's, and include biographical works of other 70's gay icons.
  • National Road Trip Day (Friday before Memorial Day)- I like to create a display with audiobook suggestions for car trips. This is a great way to integrate your digital collection into a display in your library. You can mirror a list online with one in your library. 
  • Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month - Remember to look broadly at your collection and include genre fiction. A display of mysteries or romance would be a great way to introduce fans of those genres to new authors. 
  • Jewish American Heritage Month- Again, look broadly at your collection. Think beyond just books about the Holocaust. I have a masters degree focusing on the Holocaust but like any community, the Jewish American experience is greater than just tragedy. 
  • Mental Health Awareness Month- This would be a great display to pair with local resources or even a program. Add information patrons can take with them about any local agencies or groups. 
  • Memorial Day- This is a holiday to honor those who died while serving in the US armed forces. Keep this in mind as you plan displays and any active or passive programs. Having your local veterans groups table in your library or someone from the VA come in to explain available services would be a way to tie a display into programming and make new connections in your community. 
  • Cinco de Mayo - Please research the history of this holiday and what actually happened on that day before you set up a display. It's not really about tacos and margaritas. There are plenty of Mexican and Mexican-American authors you can promote from your collection. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Display Theme- Black History Month

  It's likely your library has put up a book display or list related to Black History Month . If you look at the official US government site and review the exhibits page, you will see a huge variety of topics. There are exhibits on educators, visual artists, theatre, dress, folklife, colleges, literature, music and religion. Use these exhibits as a place to start your own displays and lists for Black History Month. In addition to displays focusing on slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, use this month to introduce patrons to titles in your collection that can allow them to see parts of Black history that they might not be familiar with. There are topics like t he Harlem Renaissance  , Black cowboys , Black entrepreneurs , Black scientists , and more. GLAAD has information on Black LGBTQ history . Don't forget to see what your local history collection has about history in your city, state, or region.  The most popular display I have ever put up in February was related to Blac
Read more

Where to Get Ideas for Your Displays!

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
Read more

Ideas For Book Displays and Other Passive Readers Advisory - Science Fiction Edition

This is the first of some genre-focused posts. Rather than start with genres I know more about (romance and horror) I thought I would do the harder ones first so we are jumping off with science fiction. There is science fiction content on my post about general book content so check those sites as well if you are looking for science fiction book news.  Whether right or wrong, the worlds of science fiction and gaming seem to have an affiliation so I've included some gaming sites with book related content.  Also, if you have suggestions here, please let me know! The Portalist : A site run by Open Road Media (which operates other genre-focused sites like The Lineup ) focused on science fiction and fantasy. The focus is on backlist titles. There are a lot of articles with read-alikes and lists based upon a theme such as " Must Read Space Opera Books ." They also cover movies and TV shows along with weird news that will appeal to fans of the genre.  Book Riot has science fictio
Read more