Passively Recommending Books

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 yo

  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 ce

  So, it's October and you want a book display that isn't horror? Here are some ideas that you can use.  You could always go horror - adjacent and do a true crime or horrible history display with your non-fiction. If you pick the best readable, narrative non-fiction and put it near your fiction stacks, there are books that will get checked out. This is a display that will flow into your horror book displays and lists.  Remember that you can be funny and refuse to fall into anything! Put up a display of beachy, coastal romance and fiction. Put up a sign with a flip flop and proudly demonstrate your refusal to give up summer. There are plenty of books with beaches on the front that you can use. You could tie it into a coast/ocean horror display with books like Daniel Kraus' Whalefall.  Mean Girls Day was October 3 but a book display of the books you think that the characters from the movie would like and books that fans of the movie might enjoy would also be fun.  Other holid

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

  True crime has soared in popularity thanks to podcasts and documentaries on streaming services. It is possible to highlight the parts of your collection that would appeal to fans of the genre while also being conscious of the victims, survivors, and their families. I'm not including a list of titles about the more famous serial killers because those are easy to find and likely get a lot of circulation in your library.  I'll link to the Goodreads reviews for the books so you can see what other readers thought since I've not read all of the titles below. Remember to include lists/signs/QR codes for your digital collections if you make a book display inside your library.  Setting up a book display or a book list is not a test; don't stress out over how close a read alike is. Every reader comes at a book from a different place. Also, Use popular titles to draw in readers to the other books on your display. You won't have every lower profile or smaller press/imprint bo

As part of the Horror Writers of America 's StokerCon Librarian's Day, I am moderating a panel on promoting horror in libraries. I have posted some of the displays I have done which include horror. Don't forget that you can include horror titles in almost any book display.  Don't get stuck in the box of only promoting horror in October. Don't strictly segregate genres because your patrons don't care as much as you think they do. (One huge exception is romance readers - romance has a happier ever after ending.) One final tip is this- book displays in libraries are not a school project. The objective is to get materials into the hands of your patrons. Be broad with genre and theme. You don't have to be exacting as far as which titles you include as long as it's not a genre or subgenre specific display. Even then, I use the broadest possible definition.  This display was easy to fit horror into. It's "Get Possessed by a Book". Include non-fict

  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

  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

T he popularity of true crime podcasts makes them a great source of inspiration for your book displays. Pick a few or more and pair them with books or movies with similar themes, subjects, or tones. Because book displays are passive readers advisory, we don't have the conversations with patrons that we would normally have to learn what they loved about the podcasts. By broadly interpreting what a read alike is, there is a better chance of catching what it is they love.  I'll pick one podcast to use as an example. True Crime Bullshit  is hosted by Josh Hallmark on the Our Americana Network. TCBS is a serialized investigation into the life and crimes of serial killer Israel Keyes. (Of it's four seasons, three have focused on Keyes. The third season told the story of another serial killer.) Hallmark is a compelling narrator who focuses on telling a story about people: Keyes, his victims, and his friends and family. The story can seem intimate and personal at times. The listen

People were thinking about the 20’s at the beginning of 2020 so I obliged them with a book display . First things to be taken from this display were books about fashion. In theory, you could put this up every year until 2030.  Pay at least some attention to what is bouncing around in popular culture; you can mine it for ideas for easy book displays that let you faceout backlist lonely books. 

Quick Neil Peart memorial book display . Fill in with books about drums, drummers, and rock music. Don't forget to add any CDs or DVDs that you have. Include info about digital services like Hoopla that have music available to check out would also be a great idea. 

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 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 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 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.