Passively Recommending Books

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

 This month Grady Hendrix' s new title, How To Sell A Haunted House, is published. He is a best selling horror author whose books have a lot of crossover appeal to readers who don't necessarily seek out horror. Even if you have a holds list for the book, you can harness his popularity to draw attention to other titles on your shelves.  First, as always, put up signage promoting your holds list. Don't assume that everyone knows how easy it is and what the notification options are. If you have any of his titles as part of your eBook collection, add information about that as well. The purpose of a book display or online booklist is to promote your library's collection. Don't get hung up on specific titles; it's not a homework assignment. Unless you post pictures online, no one is going to grade you. Just search for subject headings and look for titles that are close enough. It's a great way to become more proficient with your searching.  Grady has a backlist wh

  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

When Things Go Wrong book display with titles about disasters including some local/state titles. I borrowed this idea from ALA's Booklist. They have lists that are great jumping off points. This display could include fiction from any and all genres including horror, suspense, and thrillers.