Unshelving Your Collection Idea- NPR Book of the Day

 One quick and easy way to get some readers advisory information about recently published books is to listen to NPR's podcast Book of the Day. From their website: 

In need of a good read? Or just want to keep up with the books everyone's talking about? NPR's Book of the Day gives you today's very best writing in a snackable, skimmable, pocket-sized podcast. Whether you're looking to engage with the big questions of our times – or temporarily escape from them – we've got an author who will speak to you, all genres, mood and writing styles included. Catch today's great books in 15 minutes or less.

 While this is certainly something that library staff should be encouraged to listen to when not at a public service desk, it's also an opportunity for a quick and easy book display that will be small enough that it can be fit in almost anywhere in a library. 

If you don't own that book, you can skip a day. Remember to check your eBook and eAudiobook collections as well. A book display in your library can also reference those collections to remind patrons that you are a source of digital materials as well. It's also a great readers advisory post for social media. 

Here is an example of a sign that could be posted on a public service desk: 

'Adventures in the Louvre' will teach you how to fall in love with the famous museum

Scan this code to check out this book from our eBook collection!

April 15, 2025

From NPR.org: 

Elaine Sciolino has one mantra: "Never go to the Louvre on an empty stomach or with a full bladder." The former Paris bureau chief of The New York Times has written a guide filled with her best advice for enjoying the world's most-visited museum. Her new book, Adventures in the Louvre, is part journalism, part memoir and part art history. In today's episode, Sciolino speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the contested origins of the museum's name, the staff's love-hate relationship with the Mona Lisa, and why some Louvre visitors might feel underwhelmed.

To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

Support our local NPR station! [Name of station] [website]

W. W. Norton & Company

Be certain to credit NPR and the publishers when you use their text and images. I would reference your local NPR station in case patrons want to listen as well as NPR.org

 

Social Media and Passive RA - Book of the Day

 Outlets like NPR , The Guardian, and the New York Public Library (and on NYPL Twitter) feature a different book every day. Titles for any audience, fiction and non-fiction, are selected. Your library can copy this idea for your own social media. It's a great way to market your backlist and to introduce titles they may have missed to your patrons. 

This is a perfect ongoing campaign for your entire staff to become involved with. Don't exclude anyone who wants to participate. As I have said before, everyone in your library is an expert in something and they may bring out titles that you are unfamiliar with. Please make sure that staff are using titles that are in your physical or digital collection. You want to draw people into your library to check out the titles you feature!

It will take some planning to keep going every day. Set up at least a week in advance. Repeat the call to your staff to submit their ideas monthly so that you can obtain enough content. The posts can be as simple as a picture of the book with text providing a quick synopsis. You can include a link to the title in your catalog or eBook collection. These are the sort of posts that you can mirror on all of your library's social media, providing content when you don't have anything else planned. 

You may want to expand the program to have patrons submit their options for book of the day. They will need to be told that submissions will be vetted by your professional staff and that not all submissions will be featured. This should help should anyone suggest a book that isn't what your library wants to feature. 

Finally, rotate the books chosen around your collection so that every part gets it's chance to shine. It may be necessary to send out a call if you don't receive enough varied submissions. Social media is wonderful for quick bursts of readers advisory. Use this program to jump start your RA efforts online!