StokerCon and a vacation threw me off my schedule but I am back! Hopefully, you have started to plan your book displays in advance and won't need all of these ideas except for fill-ins.
July is named for Julius Caesar. Create a display with titles about Roman history and Julius Caesar. An ongoing series could be a display tied to the stories about how each month got it's name. You can pick and choose from the various reasons given for how each month got its name depending upon what works with your collection.
The first holiday that July brings to mind is US Independence Day. Beyond fiction and non-fiction about the Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence, remember that to include the stories of those outside the Founding Fathers. Check your collection for titles about the experience of Black Americans, women, and Native Americans. You could also put up a display about other battles for independence or about other historical events which occurred around the same time.
Canada Day is July 1. Time to check for Canadian authors in your collection as well as travel books and fiction set in Canada.
Aliens are an option twice in July (although they really are always an option.)July 2 is World UFO Day and July 21 Invite an Alien to Live with You Day. Science fiction as well as the non-fiction about alien encounters. Pair it with a display of youth materials.
July 3 is the Start of the Dog Days of Summer which can be matched up with July 26's National Dog Photography Day. Besides a book display, create a passive program and encourage patrons to submit photos of their pets. You can post them in the library and/or on your social media.
Summer Fruits is an easy book display/book list to create because you can use books with fruit on the cover or in the title. Supplement it with fruit-oriented cookbooks.
Ice cream/freezers/snow is a fun idea for a book display in the heat of summer. There are plenty of books with ice cream, snow, ice, cold in the title. We have done this at my library in the summer even though our winters bring no snow. The idea of both this display and summer fruits is to showcase your backlist around a fun theme. Any library worker can help keep these filled in.
Bicycles and motorcycles are popular during the summer. Bring out non-fiction about bicycle and motorcycle travel and repair. There are also plenty of fiction titles with bikes in the title or on the cover.
Shark Week remains popular with the public. Look for all the shark books and sea/ocean/underwater horror. Don't forget to set up a youth display as well. In our library, sharks rival dinosaurs in popularity.
The 1969 moon landing is a great time to showcase your science fiction backlist as well non-fiction about space travel and the solar system.
Use Bastille Day on July 14 to showcase French history and fiction about the French Revolution. There are likely DVDs in your collection set in this time period.
July 25 is Puerto Rico Constitution day, celebrated also in some US cities. Find your Puerto Rican history and travel books and pair them with books by Puerto Rican authors. Recent Bram Stoker award winners Gabino Iglesias and Cina Pelayo are a good start.
July 31 is Harry Potter's Birthday beyond the fact that this best selling series needs no help from us to find readers, there are other well documented reasons to avoid promoting this series. Use this holiday to help your patrons find read alikes for the series. Some patrons may have completed the series and would appreciate some other series to start. Here are a few lists to get you started.
Naperville Public Library Harry Potter Read Alikes
Pembroke Public Library Harry Potter Read Alikes
Goodreads Harry Potter Read Alikes
Enjoy your July and summer book displays!
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