December Book Display Ideas

 

December is almost upon us! This year has flown by and it’s time to think about merchandising your collection for December. While there are two big holidays to consider, I would always suggest that you include some displays and lists that are not about Christmas or New Year’s Eve. Not every patron celebrates Christmas or holidays in general. There will also be patrons who are seeking a break from holiday preparations, even if they do celebrate Christmas.

I also suggest that while winter-y décor is appropriate in the northern hemisphere, avoid decorations that are Christmas oriented. For those who are not from Christian backgrounds, it can be off putting to see a tree and so forth in their library.  Perhaps youth library staff can have the youngest patrons create snowflakes to hang from the ceiling. Adding a small Menorah for Hanukkah or Kinara for Kwanzaa doesn’t balance out a giant Christmas tree in your lobby.

An idea for an interactive display or passive program would be to ask patrons to put their best memory from this year on a card of some sort. You can display them on a bulletin board with a cart of books about memories nearby. At the end of the month, transition it to hopes for the upcoming year and add books about positive psychology, planning, or hope in general. Whether or not you mediate this program depends upon your building and your patrons. Set up separate ones in your youth and young adult area if that works better for your building and the expectations of your stakeholders.

Both programs can be replicated on your website or social media. Have patrons email you their answers and you can aggregate them in a post, in your building, or online.  If they write their memory or hope down, images can be posted, and your library can be tagged with whatever tag you come up with for these programs or your online passive programs in general. Don’t hesitate to do both – patrons who primary use eBooks and eAudiobooks should not be excluded from your programs if you are able to post about them online.

Fiction is filled with winter themed titles in every genre. Don’t forget to just use books with frozen, snow, cold, frost, winter and so forth in the title. Winter horror, thrillers, and suspense novels will be popular as will mysteries and romance. Winter starts on December 21^st officially, but this display can be up all month.

It’s best of the year time. Any outlet that sells books or has book news and reviews will be releasing their best of year lists. Review them and compare them to your collection. You may find titles that you need to order. Check for books that could use a circulation boost, especially those by underrepresented authors or from smaller presses. The books which were best sellers and filled your request list don’t need the boost that a book display or booklist can provide. Remember to make copies of the lists you post online available for patrons in your buildings. You can also put a shelf talker where the best of books are shelved and add read-alikes for when they are checked out.

December also includes Pearl Harbor day. It’s a good time to dig out military history, World War II history and fiction that haven’t circulated in a while. You can pair this display with a program with your local Veteran’s Administration office or hospital to highlight available services for veterans. There are constantly new historical fiction titles about World War II being published which makes this an easy display to keep filled.

With Hanukkah and Kwanzaa both starting near Christmas this year, they might not get the attention they deserve. While your youth collection likely has many options, don’t forget to add Jewish history books and fiction by Jewish authors as well as books by Black authors and 1960’s Black history to fill in your adult display and lists.

I hope this gives you some options beyond Christmas books for your December displays. While I have put up displays with holiday movies, music, and books, I always try to add some displays that are not Christmas themed. Remember that your library needs to represent everyone in your community.

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.