January Book Display Ideas

What everyone wants to do in January is a “New Year, New You” display. The fact is that individuals don’t need to craft new versions of themselves every year. Instead, encourage your patrons to –

• Learn something new: Set up titles about learning a language, a skill, a craft. Look for basic history books about lesser-known events or places. 

• Cook something new: Baking and cooking books that haven’t gotten enough attention. 

• Meet someone new: Character centered fiction that hasn’t circulated recently. 

• Visit someplace new: Travel books and books from your local collection. Look for titles that haven’t been checked out in the last six months. 

You can expand these as you need to fit your collection. For example, it’s also a great time to try a new genre or start a new-to-you series. Pair these displays with your programs and services. 

Don’t forget to include youth and young adult materials in your displays. Move those titles to areas outside of the designated youth and young adult areas. Never assume that all your patrons are aware of every part of your collection and all of your services. 

January 3 is JRR Tolkien Day, celebrated because it is the author’s birthday. Look for read alikes for his books and promote your backlist. Also with Appreciate a Dragon Day is January 16 so you could stretch out these displays for the month. Here are some lists to get you started: 

• 15 Books Like Lord of the Rings

• If You Like The Hobbit, You Might Like

• Leave Middle Earth for these ‘Lord of the Rings’ Read-Alikes

• Diverse Adult Fantasy Novels with Magic

• 19 Fantasy Novels Inspired by Cultures from Around the World

Mon, Jan 15, 2024 is also Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Include titles about the Civil Rights Movement, including any fiction and DVDs you have. Don’t forget youth titles. 

Betty White Day is January 17 which would have been her 100th birthday. Beyond books about her and any DVDs you have which include her, you can have fun and do some sort of Golden Girls display or pet-themed fiction display. Set up a display including information about your local animal shelters to remember Betty White’s love of animals. 

The United Nations General Assembly designated January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Don’t forget fiction while you look through your non-fiction collection. The United States Holocaust Museum and Memorial has resources you can include as part of your digital displays. 

It’s very easy to find lists of January holidays online. You don’t need to look at all of them earnestly but pick one or two which inspire you to dig through your backlist. For example, January is also National Egg Month which means lots of fiction with chickens and eggs on the cover or as part of the title. There would also be breakfast and egg themed cookbooks and books about raising chickens. Youth materials would be fun as well. 

December Book Display Ideas

 Of course there are a number of holidays this month. Please don't neglect to put up a winter/snow sort of display to balance things out for those who don't celebrate Christmas. There are a number of romance and horror titles which focus on winter and snow. Mysteries, particularly those by Scandinavian authors (Scandi Noir) are also good options if you are looking for fiction. Consider knitting, winter decor, and travel narratives from wintery places. There are plenty of wintery DVDs which could be added as well. 

Beyond Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza, there is Yule and Winter Solstice to consider. Set up displays of paranormal romance, occult horror, urban fantasy, and non-fiction books about wicca, the occult, and related subjects. 

In 1997, the show Seinfeld introduced Festivus to everyone. Do you have books that are based around complaints? Titles that you think various Seinfeld characters would love? Use your imagination and even set up a Festivus pole!

December 1 is celebrated as Rosa Parks Day. It commemorates the day in 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus and the Montgomery Bus Boycott followed. It's always good to add a display about Black History outside of February. Beyond non-fiction titles about the history of the US Civil Rights Movement and books about antiracism, think about looking for novels and DVDs that take place during the era as well as biographies of prominent civil rights leaders. 

On December 3, the United Nations has established the International Day of Persons with Disabilities to promote the rights of people with disabilities. It's a good time to check your collection for titles that cover disability rights and issues of concern to those with disabilities. Your adult fiction collection and youth fiction collection should also include titles that feature people with disabilities. 

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is December 7. 2,403 service members and civilians died after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Don't forget DVDs and youth titles about the event. You can expand the display to include World War II books or books about Hawaii in general if you need to fill it in. 

Best of lists appear all month. They are a good way to promote your eBook collection by demonstrating to your patrons that they can get eBooks and eAudiobooks as a service from their library. Becky Spratford of RA for All summarizes the best of lists on her blog. You can also set up physical displays of the titles you have available although I would suggest using the backlist of any of the authors on the list or readalikes and including a QR code linking to your digital collection instead. 

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 the 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 Black chefs, cooking, and history of food in Black culture. In less than a week, the display was empty, after being filled several times. Another popular display was biographies and memoirs. Choose a variety of people from many backgrounds and experiences. Use those faceouts to show the depth and breadth of Black history.

Fiction is something that sometimes gets ignored. Use a display of mystery, romance, science fiction, or romance to bring out your backlist and give it some light. There are plenty of lists you can start with online: 

BookRiot has 24 Black romance books add to your TBR.  
WOC in Romance has lists by trope and subgenre. 

The Los Angeles Public Library published a list in 2018 of Black mystery writers and their Black detectives. 
CrimeReads offers 25+ new releases from Black authors including mysteries of all kinds, thrillers, and suspense novels. 

The Toronto Public Library posted a list celebrating Black speculative fiction authors. 
Epic Reads has a YA focused list of science fiction and fantasy by Black authors. 
Essence offers a beginner's guide to Afrofuturism. 

The Root produced a list of titles by Black horror authors 
Goodreads has this collection of horror and thrillers by Black authors.
The Horror Writers Association has a blog which features diverse authors all year. 

Find interviews with authors, historians, artists and link to them on your social media. Include information about your online lists and collections. Don't forget your storytimes and youth events. Include a variety of books for youth of all ages in your displays. I haven't even mentioned things like graphic novels, movies, and music. 

I will end with a reminder that if you don't have enough to put up a display on a particular topic, it is a good time to review your collection and see what should be added. Also, use diversity and inclusion in your book displays all year. 

Getting Ready for February - Black History Month

 

It's time to start thinking about Black History Month book displays. I will be posting pictures and ideas for the next few days. 

I wanted to share one of the more popular ones I put up. This is devoted to biographies of black chefs and cookbooks by black authors. 

It emptied out the library of all the books on the subject very quickly and I had to pivot to another topic. 

When you are thinking about promoting various history/heritage months, think outside the box. Don't limit yourself. Think about your own city/town/community. Think local history. Think about culture in a broad sense. 

Creating book displays is a good way to inventory your collection. If you can't find books for a display, your library might need to diversify its collection. There are always constraints due to collection development policy and budget but we can add books to represent our entire communities. Promoting them through passive readers advisory like displays, bookmarks, and lists will help your patrons find them. 

Kobe Bryant Memorial Book Display

Regardless of your personal thoughts about Kobe Bryant and his legacy, he was an important figure in sports. A teacher friend told me of young people in her school using "Kobe!" to mean skills... We added books about the NBA and basketball as these were checked out. These don't have to stay up long; I think this one was up for a little longer than a week. But when someone significant dies, they are on the minds of your patrons. Not everyone will ask for help so putting materials in front of them will help your circulation while also being great patron service. 

Rosa Parks' Birthday

Rosa Parks' birthday is a great subject for a book display that combines youth and adult titles.  Don't forget to include books from your biographies, African-American studies, and history books. This display sat away from all of those areas and was a way for patrons to be reminded of books that might not have searched out on their own. 

Black History Month - Food and Cooking

Black History Month doesn't have to just be displays with somber history. Remember to include the depth and breadth of the black experience and find some joyful subject to put out for your patrons. This display was fun to put together and emptied out very quickly. Again, I use a generic sign template so that I don't have to work as hard when it's time to replace it. 

Black History Month - Black Authors and Literature

Black History Month display with titles from the 800's on literature and authors. This particular part of non-fiction does not generally circulate well at my library so this was a chance to highlight it in an area with more foot traffic. 
The previous display emptied out. For month-long celebrations, I try to start with a list of ideas so I can replace them quickly. I also use a generic sign template. 

Black History Month

February is Black History Month and it's important to remember to try to branch out and include topics beyond the expected. This year, I put up one for Rosa Parks' birthday. I always include juvenile materials. Beyond children, they are often filled with pictures and can be more accessible to adults with low literacy skills. 

The second one up this month is about African American food and cooking. Included are cookbooks and biographies/autobiographies of black chefs. When this one empties out, I will pick another topic. Thinking up displays like this is a good way to check the diversity of your collection in areas like cooking and food.


Resources to help you include:

https://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/ -The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have created a site with information.

African American History Month - Library of Congress

Florida Black History - Check to see if your state has a similar site. You can use their essay prompts to host your own contest. 

Celebrating Black History Month - Smithsonian - National Museum of African American History and Culture.