USE YOUR OWN LATEST READ AS INSPIRATION.

 Read a great book? One that stuck with you? Use it to inspire a book display or list! As an exercise to show that there are plenty of ways to approach a book, I have made multiple posts using one book to inspire a display. 

You don’t even need to mention the book in the display. Pick one aspect of the book – setting, theme, character, and use it to fill in a display. A romance novel set in New Orleans can inspire a display about that city. A horror novel about a dysfunctional family? A historical novel about 14th century Japan? Fill it in with a mix of genres and a simple sign. 

This is another way that you can use a popular/best selling title to create a display without using valuable space to promote a book that your patrons have already heard about. Advertise your holds list (no, not everyone knows how easy it is) and find some other books that can be tied into that great book you just read. Use a sign that says "Waiting for [popular title]? Try these while you wait!" 

Here's an example using a very popular title that some of you may have read: 

Right now, the book with the most holds at my library is The Women by Kristen Hannah. This is a coming of age book about a nursing student during the Vietnam War era. It's also about idealism, sacrifice, and commitment. A TikTok video referenced historical fiction and "boss women." Pull out any of those and you can have a book display. If your first choices get checked out, pick another aspect and fill it up again. 

Please don't just use other novels by Kristen Hannah. Her novels are best sellers and don't need our help circulating. 

Pull out books by Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American authors about the war to give your patrons another perspective. 

Library Journal has some read-alikes for The Women.

Richland Public Library created a list of books written by Vietnamese authors. 

A Goodreads list of books on Vietnam War from the Vietnamese perspective. 

June Book Display Ideas

 June is nearly here and the year is closing in on its midpoint. The big holidays for the month are usual topics for book displays and lists along with Pride month which I will cover in a separate post. But there are some other possibilities. 

June 1 is National Pen Pal Day which calls to mind epistolary novels and non-fiction about letter writing. 

Pair up June 4th’s hug your cat day with June 15th’s National Dog Dad Day. There are plenty of adult and juvenile fiction options here. 

June 6 is D Day. Books about World War 2 are always popular. Whether fiction or non-fiction. 

June 8 is Best Friends Day. If epistolary novels are not to your taste, why not find books about best friends? Identify books that could be best friends. 

June 14  is World Blood Donor day. While this is a great opportunity to join forces with your local blood bank, it also should remind you of vampires which are having another moment. 

June 16th is Father’s Day Even if you use books with dad, father etc in their title, it's a great book display. Don't over think the theme. Mix in some non-fiction. 

June 19th Is Juneteenth. I hope you have enough youth books for a display. Pul out fiction and non-fiction surrounding the years after the Civil War and the end of slavery in the US. 

June 24th is Midsummer. Besides Pagan books on the subject, you could do a display of books with floral covers and create a midsummer garden of book covers. 

National Garden Week (June 2–8) This is another time you can create a garden of book covers with floral themes in addition to non-fiction books on the subject. 

National Roller Coaster Week (June 16–22) You likely have some youth titles on the subject and perhaps some books for coaster enthusiasts. Look into thrillers which could be described as a roller coaster ride. 

 

Upcoming Presentations

 I will be attending the Horror Writers Association's StokerCon  from May 30 - June 2, 2024. As part of Librarian's Day, I am moderating "What Horror Means to Me" on May 31 at 1 pm PT featuring the 2024 Guests of Honor: Paula Guran, Justina Ireland, Jonathan Maberry, Nisi Shawl, and Paul Tremblay .

On May 31, at 2 pm PT I will be moderating "The Heart of Horror: Getting the Most Out of The Horror Writers Association" with Steven Morley, Linda D. Addison, Maxwell Ian Gold, John Edward Lawson, Brian Matthews, Sumiko Saulson, and Lisa Wood. 

Finally, I am participating in " The Books Unbanned Initiative" on June 1 at 11 am PT This panel will be focusing on banning challenges facing libraries and how authors can support libraries in the fight against censorship and banning. This panel is on June 1 at 11 am. The panel includes Paula D. Ashe, Sarah Read, Ben Rubin, James Sabata, and Misty Jones. 

Next up after StokerCon, is a webinar for PCI Webinars called "Marketing Your Collection, Services, and Programs with Better Book Displays" at 2 pm ET. This webinar is about: 

Any library worker can be a hero and use book displays or online book lists to market their library's collection, revealing the hidden gems on their shelves and introducing patrons to materials they may have missed. In addition, book displays, both in the library and online, can be used to market programs, partnerships, and library services as well. Attendees will learn how to craft displays and lists that are effective in promoting the theme or message behind the display. Join Passive Readers’ Advisory expert Lila Denning for an hour of all the ways that you can promote your library’s collection with better book displays. Book displays are a fun, creative marketing technique that any library can use. She will show you how to create book displays that will draw readers in and help them to find those titles that don’t get enough attention. Attendees will learn how to:

· Understand what are the features of a great book display and how to craft them with a focus on marketing your collection

· Discover ways to use book displays to promote services, ongoing and special programs and events

· Identify opportunities to fit in book displays all over your building, even in smaller libraries with limited space

 On Thursday, July 25 at 1:30 pm CDT I am teaching "Developing the Adult Fiction Collection" for ALA eLearning. In this workshop, I will cover how you can grow and diversify your collection to make better readers advisory choices and offer stronger materials to your patrons.

TBLC will present it's annual VIP Conference on August 16 from 9:30 am - 3:30 pm ET. The theme this year is  Together Towards Tomorrow. It will be held at the Embassy Suites Tampa/USF. The keynote is by Miguel Figueroa who is President and CEO of Amigos Library Services. I am not presenting this year but am participating as part of the committee. I hope local library workers will register and attend!

Book Display Ideas - Celebrity Book Suggestions

People love book suggestions from celebrities. Former President Barack Obama puts out an annual list of his favorite movies, books, and music. Michelle Obama has also mentioned books she enjoyed. There are certainly plenty of successful book clubs attached to celebrities. An Instagram account called Celeb Book Recs collects book suggestions from a variety of celebrities as does the account Book Recommendations from Celebs.

If you see a popular celebrity recommend a book, take note. When you have enough, it makes for a great book display or list. Just watch for diverse authors and titles that are not bestsellers. Also, no one needs to be introduced to classics like The Great Gatsby or The Old Man and The Sea through your book displays. 

I have included a few lists below that can help get you started. Harness the power of celebrity to help move your backlist!

Your Favorite Sci-Fi Author's Favorite Sci-Fi Book

This list features book recommendations from bestselling science fiction authors like Pierce Brown, Liu Cixin, and John Scalzi.

21 Authors on the Books That They Still Think About

From life-changing to pure entertainment, these are the books that resonate with some of our favorite writers.

Our favorite authors share their favorite books

What's Your Favorite Fantasy Author's Favorite Fantasy Book?

Have you ever wondered about George R.R. Martin’s favorite book? How about Neil Gaiman or Patrick Rothfuss?

39 Black Authors On Their Favorite Books by Black Authors

We asked Black authors to share their favorite books by Black authors — the books they return to again and again, the ones that never fail to provide inspiration. Here are the books they love, which are perfect for adding to your own TBR pile.

Ten LGBTQ+ Authors on the Books That Taught Them

James Frankie Thomas, Amelia Possanza, Richard Mirabella, Gina Chung, and Many More Reflect on Their Formative Texts

The 20 Best LGBTQ Books, According to Queer Authors

We asked nine queer authors to share the best LGBTQ books they've ever read. Here are their top picks.

15 Incredible Celebrity Book Recommendations

#QueerAllYear

 

#QueerAllYear

As Pride Month approaches, I would like to remind everyone that books by LGBTQ+ creators and with LGBTQ+ characters should be promoted all year. On various social media platforms, you may have seen the hashtag #QueerAllYear. In the face of the attempts to silence and further marginalize this community, libraries should remember that we can include these titles to our book displays and lists to help bring some positive attention to these books and authors.

In addition, buying books by marginalized authors is only part of the equation. The other part is to get the word out to your patrons. Remember to include books by LGBTQ+ authors in your book display and book lists. Diversity is not a genre so when you promote romance, mysteries, horror and other genres, books by diverse authors should always be included.  While they can be a creative outlet for staff, the primary purpose of a good book display should be to draw attention to titles that readers may not discover on their own. This promotion will also increase your staff’s knowledge of, giving them more options when assisting readers.

A program that any library can start is a #QueerAllYear program that would run from June to June, featuring programming and book promotions that center the LGBTQ+ community. They don’t have to be intense, involved things every month. Promoting a local program or organization on a book display with some related titles from your collection and adding a sign with the hashtag #QueerAllYear could be used for more than one month.

Add signage with information about your digital collection and what titles can be found there. Platforms like Hoopla Digital that include comics and graphic novels have LGBTQ+ collections that can be promoted as well. If your library regularly makes digital shelves or displays in your eBook platform, one shelf outside of June can be given over to National Coming Out Day in October or the  Transgender Day of Remembrance in November.

Add #QueerAllYear to your monthly plan for merchandising and promoting your collection. This will allow you to balance your efforts given other obligations and efforts per month so that no one initiative becomes overwhelming. It will introduce staff to authors and titles that they may not be familiar with, expanding their readers advisory efforts while also helping patrons potentially find their next great read.

Summer Reading

 

Summer reading will be starting soon, and your book displays and lists can become part of the program. There are two themes that most public libraries will be using: Adventure Begins at Your Library from the Collaborative Summer Library Program and Read, Renew, Repeat from iRead.
Either theme can be used to promote your backlist and bring your collection to your patron’s attention. Use them broadly and always include some basic information about your summer reading program on the displays. A QR code to your website will also help patrons find out more.

Don’t forget to take Becky Spratford’s (RA for All) advice and put a cart of adult books in the youth programs. Most young children who attend storytime have a caregiver with them and those adults will appreciate having access to materials without having to bring a potentially tired or hungry child into the adult stacks. The cart can be easily filled with fiction and non-fiction popular titles. It can even be placed near the checkout desk or the picture books if that makes more sense for your space. Walk the programming area as if you were a patron and see where you can place a cart. You may find that two carts would work better. Of course, bring youth materials into your adult programs if you find that adults are bringing children.

Create lists or book displays that tie into your programs for adults or youth. Try to have displays throughout your buildings. They can market your programs and promote your collection at the same time. Some of your social media posts about your programs can include materials from your collection. Include smaller flyers or bookmarks about your programs in the items you place on your displays.

One final note, encourage staff from all over your library to help promote your summer reading. Any interaction with a patron could be a chance to provide information about it or even to let them know it exists. Try to have staff meetings with everyone to provide basic information. Make it something that everyone who works in your library is invested in and excited about.

Just In Case Book Display Ideas

 There will be months when you are out of ideas for a book display or are too busy to invest a lot of time in creating one. For these times, keep a list of easy displays with premade signage that can be filled quickly and replenished by anyone. Exactly what these lists consist of depends on your collection and patrons but make sure that they can include titles from every part of your collection including youth titles. As always, keep the focus on backlist titles that are not from the same bestselling authors that everyone knows about already.

Having data available about which authors, titles, subjects, and series need some attention makes this type of display easy. If you are not the person in your library system who runs these reports, you will need to reach out to them. Having this information will help you have display ideas on hand. I have done a display with nothing but fiction that was due to be weeded if it didn’t get checked out. The face outs helped them get attention and many of them were checked out.

You, of course, don’t need a formal list but at least have a few ideas that you can use when there is a time crunch and you just need something up on the display. These ideas are also useful when a display empties out and must be pulled down because there are no more titles to fill it. This is a nice problem to have because you helped many readers potentially find their next great read. But that display still needs to be filled in.

Here are a few ideas:

Cookbooks are popular but I am sure that you have titles that have been overlooked. A “Look What’s Cooking” display will allow you to bring them to patron’s attention and can be filled by anyone. Have a list of titles with lower circulation available for any member of your staff to reference.

Look in your fiction for series that are not getting enough attention. Bringing a series forward for patrons to discover will be popular, especially with those heavy readers who have finished their favorite series. Try international mysteries for those mystery fans who read every bestseller. Romance readers can be voracious. Pick a series that could use more attention on and load up the display.

Poetry is something I find circulates well when on display but which sits when it’s not promoted. A quick display of poetry is something that anyone can fill and which will bring attention to part of your collection which may not receive the attention it deserves

Book Display Idea - Five Book Friday!

 Reoccuring social media posts can be a reason for people to revist your social media pages even when the posts don't show up in their feed. A fun way to involve all staff, regardless of position, in readers advisory and marketing your backlist is what I call Five Book Friday. Everyone who works in your library system can find materials about a theme they love including books and audio-video materials. The idea can even work with your eBook collection. 

Announce the program and seek input from staff. With a calendar you can assign weeks and have part of your social media promotion set for the year. Allowing everyone to participate will add topics and titles that would otherwise be buried in the stacks to get a spotlight shined on them. Someone in your business office may love historical fiction. A member of your facilities team could love French cooking. A preschool storytime star may be an expert in space opera. Not only will this provide social media posts but it will encourage team building as staff learn about each other. 

Some examples? 

Heavy Metal - 

We Sold Our Souls - Grady Hendrix
Slash (autobiography)- Slash
Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga - Stephen Davis
Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal - Joe Wiederhorn and Katherine Turman
Fargo Rock City - Chuck Klosterman
or add two music CDs 

Witchy Fiction - 

Boneset and Feathers - Gwendolyn Kiste
Island Witch - Amanda Jayatissa
Hex - Thomas Olde Heuvelt
The Once and Future Witches - Alix E. Harrow 
The Year of the Witching -Alexis Henderson

Salads -

Salad Samurai - Terry Hope Romero
Salad Freak - Jess Damuck
Saladish: A Crunchier, Grainier, Herbier, Heartier, Tastier Way with Vegetables - Ilene Rosen
Seriously Good Salads: Creative Flavor Combinations for Nutritious, Satisfying Meals - Nicky Corbishley 
The Complete Salad Cookbook: A Fresh Guide to 200+ Vibrant Dishes Using Greens, Vegetables, Grains, Proteins, and More - America's Test Kitchen

The books can be in someone's hands or on a desk. The layout of the photos are up to you and how comfortable staff are with being on your library's social media page. Spread out the topics and make a mix between fiction and non-fiction. You can do all movie posts if that's an interest someone has. Use your physical and digital audiobooks as well. A staff picks carousel can be added to your eBook collection. 

Book Display Idea Using One Book - Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

 One book can be the inspiration for a book display or list. Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll (Marysue Rucci Books, 2023) flips the serial killer tale to focus on the victims and those left behind. The killer isn’t named although he’s based upon the most famous serial killer of the 1970’s who was eventually captured in Florida. There are two narrators, Pamela Schumacher who survived the killer’s attack on her sorority house and Ruth, one of the killer’s early Washington state victims, who disappeared from Lake Sammamish State Park. By leaving the killer unnamed and exploring the lives of the women who became victims, Knoll de-mythologizes the murderer and allow the women to be complex and fully human, apart from their connection with him. Fast-paced and disturbing, readers who enjoy crime stories told from a different angle will find this book compelling.  I mention several books below which would be read-alikes for this book.

While one could go to the true crime section and just grab handfuls of books about serial killers, there are some other options I would like to explore to show how there are many ways to approach a book and fit them into a book display. The object is to market your back list and have fun with the process of creating a display or list, not create a project for an English class analyzing the text. 

For fiction, consider books like Emma Cline’s The Girls. Both are based on real crimes, from roughly the same time, and from the perspective of women rather than the criminal. Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates is another option. It tells the Chappaquiddick incident in 1969 which led to the death of Mary Jo Kopechne as flashbacks as she slowly drowns. You can add other novels based upon true crimes or novels that read like true crime. Consider novels set in the 1970’s in general as well. It was a time of upheaval and crisis which has led to many great books 

The book is set in both Florida and Washington state which present other options. Florida and its history have been part of many novels. Fortunately, many large library systems create lists of books set in their state. A display contrasting these two places, at opposite ends of the United States, would also be interesting. 

The university setting could become part of a display about the darker side of the college experience. Academic thrillers have been popular lately with both suspense and horror novels popping up. A sign playing with the idea of a syllabus or dreading the next semester would draw in readers along with the face outs. 

If you do want to use true crime, select books which also focus on the victims and their lives. Boys Enter the House : The Victims of John Wayne Gacy and The Lives They Left Behind by David Nelson is not about Gacy but about many of his victims and the lives of gay men in 1970’s Chicago. Last Call : A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York by Elon Green focuses on the victims of a killer who preyed upon gay men in New York City in the 80’s and 90’s. I’ll Be Gone In The Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara is almost a classic in the genre now. McNamara’s book focused on the victims and crimes of the then-unknown Golden State Killer. Finally, Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker retells the lives and deaths of five women who were the victims of the Long Island Serial Killer and the families they left behind.

Ideas For Book Displays and Other Passive Readers Advisory - Horror Edition

Horror is very popular now which makes some library workers uncomfortable because it is a genre they personally avoid. There are plenty of resources out there to help you do don't be scared! 

Remember that I am trying to avoid repeating resources in these guides. You will find horror information on some of the science fiction, fantasy, and crime fiction guides. 

One site you should have bookmarked is Becky Spratford's blog for horror fiction, RA for All - Horror. She posts reviews, trends, and other vital information about horror fiction. There is plenty of detail about the major horror awards such as the Stoker Awards and the Splatterpunk Awards. In addition, it is the place to find information about Summer Scares. A project to promote reading horror in the summer, Summer Scares is a joint effort of United for Libraries, Book Riot, Booklist, The Horror Writers of America, and NoveList, a division of EBSCO Information Services. Three titles are picked for adults, young adults, and middle grade readers. An author is selected to be the spokesperson for the year as well. It's a great way to add horror to your summer displays. The Springfield-Greene County (MO) Library creates a programming guide each year for use by libraries at no charge. A link to that is also on Becky's Summer Scares resource page. Horror themed programming is a nice way to change up your usual summer programming fare. 

ReadJumpScares by Emily Hughes includes information about horror novels including her very valuable list of this years' upcoming horror novels. Her website also lists what she has written about horror on a variety of websites. 

The Horror Writers Association is the premier organization for those interested in horror and dark  fantasy. The organization issues the annual Bram Stoker Awards. In addition to a blog with interviews and information about a variety of people from the world of horror, they also have a strong interest in helping libraries promote horror. You can reach out to them for information including how to find an author to speak at your library. 

Founded by authors Brian Keene and Wrath James White, the Splatterpunk Awards are presented annually at KillerCon. These awards are focused on splatterpunk and extreme horror. These subgenres of horror have been growing in popularity and I have found that the winners of these awards circulate well. 

Cemetery Dance was founded by author Richard Chizmar in 1988. Besides publishing books, they also feature news and reviews on their website. The right hand sidebar has links to series like "Brian Keene's History of Horror Fiction."

Horror DNA is a site with news and reviews from all over horror including books, TV, movies, and video games. 

A long time standard bearer of horror, Fangoria magazine also features news and review from horror TV, movies, books, and more. They also have four podcasts. 

If you have more resources, add them below. Also, don't forget to check out my other genre guides for sites with horror information.