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Book Display Idea - Beachy/Sea Side/Coast Horror and Suspense

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One of the things I repeat over and over is that people love to sit at the beach and read about about the pain and suffering of others. The Horror Writers Association along with  United for Libraries , Book Riot , and Booklist has created an entire program for libraries called Summer Scares . There are titles picked for adults, young adults, and middle grade readers. Click here for more information from Becky Spratford on her blog, RA for All Horror .  In that vein, I would like to show how you can use horror tied with beachy themes for a fun summer book display that will draw patrons in. The two titles I'm using are forthcoming releases but you can use the idea with whatever your library's collection holds. Don't forget to add titles from suspense, thrillers, and non-fiction to create a display; never get hung up on genre.  I've made summer displays like this with all kinds of horror, suspense, and thrillers.  In September, Quirk will release What Kind of Mother by Cl

Theme to Explore - Blending Genre in Book Displays

 Setting aside any libraryland debates about genre spine labels, genre filing on the shelf versus interfiling and so forth, I thought I would talk about how to use books which cross several genres or are genre blended as a theme for an online list or book display. Many books have crossover appeal. You can use this to gently suggest to your readers that there are books outside their usual lanes that they will enjoy and perhaps create another entire world of books for that patron to explore.  The easiest option is to do a "If you liked this... Try this" book display/list. You can go outside of the usual similar titles in the same genre and instead match up a memoir or biography with a fiction title. Pick someone who lived in the same era or a biography with a fictional depiction of that person. A recent idea from the news and popular culture would be a novel about the British royal family with a biography of a British royal. Pair a book like Children of Chicago  by Cynthia Pela

New Year Book Display Ideas

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  I have never liked "New Year, New You" book displays. Self improvement does not need to have an implicit or explicit aura of self-hatred. Save the diet books and exercise videos for another day.  Instead, focus on showing patrons how they can "____ something new." They can learn something new, eat something new, make something new! It's a way to showcase some of your non-fiction collection that needs more exposure as well as helping them find something new to focus on. I have some pictures here that showcase a few of the displays I have done in the past.  Think broadly and involve staff from all over your library. Don't forget to include materials from your audiobook and DVD collections. You can even include images and handouts from your ebook collections or databases.  This idea would also work for youth services book displays. There is a gap in-between the holidays and the start of school. You could encourage some learning and crafting from kids who othe

Books to Read if you Loved The Witcher

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Suggestions for what to read while you wait for those holds on the Witcher books or are done binging the series. Dark fantasies or books with similar main characters are what you should look for. Search for "read likes for..." when you want to put up a display based upon whatever the most popular show on the streaming services is. 

The Shoes Made the Book

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Someone else at my library put up this display. The idea is cute - books with shoes on the cover or in the title. These sort of themes help people stumble on back list titles they may have missed. It can be tricky to fill in if you don't have ideas when you set it up. There are clearly tons of ways you could change this to suit your library's collection. Add non-fiction if you need to and grab some history of fashion or fashion books. I would even put books from health about podiatry in it!

Books from the Bottom Shelf

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As I have said before, faceouts are magical. These are simply a variety of titles that need a circulation boost. I have put up this display with a sign that simply had a sleepy puppy on it. Just being in front of your patrons' eyes can help them get the sort of attention they need. 

Book to Movie Book Display

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This is another easy book display that staff created. The titles will be familiar to your patrons, even if they are not readers. Sometimes patrons won't even realize that a popular movie was based upon a book. You can pair the books with DVD copies of the film if you have it. It's also a good idea to include a list of books and films that are in your collection, both digital and physical. 

Westerns! We got them!

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Westerns circulate well at my library. We put them up several times a year, often when there is display fatigue. Another librarian set up the display and made the sign.  Large print westerns circulate better for us. This display is another example of moving books out of their regular home and into another area. It's also easy for anyone to fill.