Back to school starts in August with school supplies and the pending new school year appearing all over. Beyond the usual back to school, 100 days of kindergarten, and other youth materials, don't forget adult and non-traditional students. By setting up a display of adult materials on grammar, writing, basic mathematics, and other related subjects, you can remind your patrons that your library does have these books available. If you have databases with test preparation, writing help, or foreign language help include information on them as well.
August 6 is Hiroshima Day or the day the City of Hiroshima holds their Peace Memorial Ceremony to remember those lost in the atomic bombing and to pray for world peace. There are plenty of US Government sites with information for patrons. The National Park Service and the Deparment of Energy are among them. Include some memoirs from survivors. Beyond non-fiction titles about the war, the dropping of the bomb, Imperial Japan, post-war Japan, and the aftermath of the bombing, there are plenty of novels about the dropping of the nuclear bombs. Goodreads comes through again with a list. The film Oppenheimer has also generated interest in the subject. Town and Country has a list.
Congress has designated the second sunday in August as the Spirit of '45 day to honor the sacrifices and achievements of the World War II generation. There is likely plenty of material in your library to fill a display around World War II as a theme. Include books about everyone who participated in the war effort.
National Lighthouse Day is celebrated on August 7. Beyond non-fiction books about lighthouses, don't forget the cozy mysteries with a lighthouse theme. Visit the site cozy-mystery.com and search for lighthouse. Crime Reads has a list of mysterious lighthouses in fiction. There are also romances and books set in a variety of seaside towns with a lighthouse at least on the cover.
August 9-16th is Elvis Week. Beyond books about Elvis, his contemporaries, and influences, the King of Rock and Roll has a huge place in popular culture. There are lists of novels with Elvis as a theme or in which he makes an appearance. Don't forget your DVD collection and information about your digital music services.
The Perseid Meteor Shower is August 12 and 13. Astronomy books and books about space can be placed on a display as well as fiction with meteors as a theme or even on the cover. Search broadly and look for comets as well as meteors or anything impacting Earth. Check your DVD collection as well.
August 26th is Women's Equality Day to commemorate the adoption of the 19th amendment, granting women the vote in the United States in 1920. Beyond titles directly related to the fight for women's suffrage, you could set up displays focusing on mysteries, horror, science fiction, and fantasy written by women.
Read Comics in Public Day is celebrated on comics legend Jack Kirby's birthday, August 28. Beyond setting up a display with graphic novels, hold an event in your library where patrons can come together to read comics. If possible, partner with a local comic book store. Remember that some of the titles which drew the attention of those who would ban books were graphic novels.
August 30th is Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's birthday and is celebrated as Frankenstein Day. Beyond her classic novel, you can set up a display with the many books that have built upon her work as well as nonfiction books and biographies about Shelley and her contemporaries. Alachua County Library District (FL) has one of these lists, including youth materials, and so does Pima County Public Library (AZ). Goodreads has a list of Frankenstein books. Arapahoe Libraries (CO) has a list of Frankenstein retellings as does Goodreads. One of my favorite Frankenstein retellings is Eynhallow by Tim McGregor.
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