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. 

December Book Display Ideas

 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 celebrated as Rosa Parks Day. It commemorates the day in 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus and the Montgomery Bus Boycott followed. It's always good to add a display about Black History outside of February. Beyond non-fiction titles about the history of the US Civil Rights Movement and books about antiracism, think about looking for novels and DVDs that take place during the era as well as biographies of prominent civil rights leaders. 

On December 3, the United Nations has established the International Day of Persons with Disabilities to promote the rights of people with disabilities. It's a good time to check your collection for titles that cover disability rights and issues of concern to those with disabilities. Your adult fiction collection and youth fiction collection should also include titles that feature people with disabilities. 

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is December 7. 2,403 service members and civilians died after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Don't forget DVDs and youth titles about the event. You can expand the display to include World War II books or books about Hawaii in general if you need to fill it in. 

Best of lists appear all month. They are a good way to promote your eBook collection by demonstrating to your patrons that they can get eBooks and eAudiobooks as a service from their library. Becky Spratford of RA for All summarizes the best of lists on her blog. You can also set up physical displays of the titles you have available although I would suggest using the backlist of any of the authors on the list or readalikes and including a QR code linking to your digital collection instead. 

October Book Display ideas - Not Horror!

 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 holidays celebrated this month include: 

Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah -  Put up a display of fiction by Jewish authors and books about Jewish history. See what you have that is not Holocaust specific. There are plenty of times of the year when those books can be brought out. 

Indigenous Peoples' Day/Columbus Day is almost upon us. You can get warmed up for Native American Heritage Month and put out some fiction by Native American Authors. There are plenty of horror titles that you can use including ones by Erika T. Wurth, Jessica Johns, Stephen Graham Jones, and Owl Goingback. See if you have any titles about your own area's Native American culture and history. 

National Coming Out Day is October 11. Remember that books by Queer authors should be part of your passive readers advisory all year. Find narratives and fiction about coming out. Include resources on bookmarks and small flyers for those patrons who might need it. Add links to your online passive readers advisory. 

October 15 is National Grouch Day. There are many lists of the hot, grouchy heroes of romance. This is also called the grumpy/sunshine trope. While by now you know that you can promote your horror collection all you, don't forget your romance collection when it's not February. Here are some links:
Goodreads
Another Goodreads list
Romance Rehab- Sexiest Grumpy Heroes in Romance
Here are some reviews from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
Book Riot with a list of grumpy sunshine titles
Another romance display/list option is October 18th's No Beard Day. Display those romances with heroes on the cover who do not have a beard!

October 17 is Black Poetry Day. Putting poetry on display is a great way to get it to circulate if you don't have a dedicated audience for it. When I put a spotlight on poetry, the books do get checked out. See what anthologies with collections of Black poets' work and individual titles you have in your 811's. 

There is apparently an International Sloth Day on October 20th. Use it to put up those long, difficult titles that take forever to get through. Encourage people to slowly enjoy a great book that is longer and more challenging. Also, do a youth companion display with picture books and non-fiction about sloths. 

Finally, October 29 is National Cat Day (isn't that every day?). There are so many cat-themed cozy mysteries. You also likely have pet books about cats as well as youth titles with cats as the central character. 

I hope this list gives you an idea about where you can start if you want a non-spooky display to put up for October. Don't stress about fitting a theme perfectly; let's just get some love to our backlist titles!

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

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 Clay McLeod Chapman. From the publisher's website: 

After striking out on her own as a teen mom, Madi Price is forced to return to her hometown of Brandywine, Virginia, with her seventeen-year-old daughter. With nothing to her name, she scrapes together a living as a palm reader at the local farmers market.

It’s at the market that she reconnects with her high school boyfriend Henry McCabe, now a reclusive local fisherman whose infant son, Skyler, went missing five years ago. Everyone in town is sure Skyler is dead, but when Madi reads Henry’s palm, she’s haunted by strange and disturbing visions that suggest otherwise. As she follows the thread of these visions, Madi discovers a terrifying monster waiting at the center of the labyrinth—and it’s coming for everyone she holds dear.

Combining supernatural horror with domestic suspense into a visceral exploration of parental grief, What Kind of Mother cements Clay McLeod Chapman’s reputation as a “star” (Vulture) and “the 21st century’s Richard Matheson” (Richard Chizmar, Chasing the Boogeyman.)

This book also contains elements of body horror and psychological horror which would be an alternative display. Another option would be to create one mixed with suspense and to focus on family relationships because parents and children are part of both novels. I will give suggestions for this in a future post. 

Daniel Kraus's Whalefall will be released in August. From the publisher's website: 

The Martian meets 127 Hours in this “powerfully humane” (Owen King, New York Times bestselling author) and scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver who’s been swallowed by an eighty-foot, sixty-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out.

Jay Gardiner has given himself a fool’s errand—to find the remains of his deceased father in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Monastery Beach. He knows it’s a long shot, but Jay feels it’s the only way for him to lift the weight of guilt he has carried since his dad’s death by suicide the previous year.

The dive begins well enough, but the sudden appearance of a giant squid puts Jay in very real jeopardy, made infinitely worse by the arrival of a sperm whale looking to feed. Suddenly, Jay is caught in the squid’s tentacles and drawn into the whale’s mouth where he is pulled into the first of its four stomachs. He quickly realizes he has only one hour before his oxygen tanks run out—one hour to defeat his demons and escape the belly of a whale.

Suspenseful and cinematic, Whalefall is an “astoundingly great” (Gillian Flynn, New York Times bestselling author) thriller about a young man who has given up on life…only to find a reason to live in the most dangerous and unlikely of places.

I've included several options for signage here. They were all made on Canva using images I found by searching Creative Commons. I am not a graphic designer, clearly, but these fit the theme and would catch someone's eye. The focus should be on the books. 

To help get you started, below are some lists from a variety of websites. Use your library's collection and remember to look at non-fiction and DVDs as well. You can add QR codes that link to titles in your eBook collection. Don't get hung up on how exactly the books fit the message on your sign. Book displays are primarily marketing tools for your collection rather than something like an art project for school.  

The Devil and the Deep: Horror Stories of the Deep Edited by Ellen Datlow 

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant 
16 Aquatic Horror Books to Dive Into From the Line Up 
16 Horror Books Perfect for Summer Scares from Spooky Little Halloween
Eight Horror Novels That Will Make You Glad Summer is Over from Book Riot
Best Summer Horror Books from Goodreads
Aquatic Horror Books from Goodreads
8 Books That Will Make You Scared to Go Into the Water from Barnes and Noble

Book List/Display Idea #1 - True Crime focused on victims, survivors, and their families.

 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 book that you uncover online. 

The first book that comes to mind for a lot of people is I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara. Written before the identity of the Golden State Killer was know, the book is well-written, never sensationalist or salacious. and takes care with the stories of those affected by the crimes. She shows empathy to the victims of the crimes and the communities where the crimes happened. There is also an HBO documentary based upon the book. 

Hachette Group's Novel Suspects, a blog promoting mysteries and thrillers, suggests these titles as read-alikes: 

We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper - An investigation of an older cold case, similar to that of the Golden State Killer. In this book, the murder of a Harvard student, Jane Britton, and a possible coverup by Harvard University. The book details the misogyny and sexist treatment of women in academia at that time.

The Grim Sleeper by Christine Pelisek - The story of a killer who attacked women in a South Central Los Angeles neighborhood for decades. Part of the books delves into how the poverty and violence in the neighborhood contributed to the killer getting away with murdering so many marginalized women for so long. The author is a reporter who followed the story for more than a decade.

The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich - A memoir about how the childhood trauma of the author and their research into a murder while working at a law firm defending those accused of murder. The book is both about the author attempting to come to terms with their own past as well as the case of Ricky Langley, a convicted pedophile. 

Other lists with readalikes:

The Lineup-13 Riveting True Crime Books for Fans of I'll Be Gone In the Dark
Book Riot - 7 of the Best Books for Mindhunter Fans (This list contains many true crime classics that you may own at your library)
Book Riot- 18 of the Best International True Crime Books You've Never Heard Of 

More titles you may own are:

The Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three by Mara Leveritt
Boys Enter the House: The Victims of John Wayne Gacy and the Lives They Left Behind by David B. Nelson
Last Call by Elon Green
The Babysitter by Liza Rodman and Jennifer Jordan
Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles - also reviewed here
Hell's Half Acre: The Untold Story of the Benders, America's First Serial Killer Family by Susan Jonusas
Deer Creek Drive : A Reckoning of Memory and Murder in the Mississippi Delta by Beverly Lowry
Savage Appetites:Four True Stories of Women, Crime, and Obsession by Rachel Monroe
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

Because including only one part of your collection in your displays and lists is never something I suggest, here are some fiction suggestions -

Crime Scene and Into the Forest and All the Way Through by Cynthia Pelayo 
Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight
The Witch Elm, The Trespasser both by Tana French
Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
You’re Invited by Amanda Jayatissa
Shutter by Ramona Emerson

Oprah Daily - Crime Fiction Goes Global and Diverse, as These 20 Books by Women Writers Show (PIck and choose from this list to add to the display if books are checked out but you can't replace the display yet.)

If you or one of your fellow staff members are a true crime podcast fan, you can include suggestions for patrons. One podcast that is focused on the victims and their story is True Crime Bullsh*t by Josh Hallmark. While covering the crimes of serial killer Israel Keyes, Hallmark is careful to humanize and include the story of his victims and suspected victims. 

StokerCon 2021 Librarians Day post

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-fiction titles and some movies. I included titles that were not horror because people will stop for an intriguing cover or a book they have read. This display included graphic novels, audiobooks, non-fiction and dark fantasy in addition to horror. 

Goosebumps - Always popular with kids, especially reluctant readers. While this was an October display, I would put it up during summer reading. It empties out very quickly. 

This display was "What to read next if you love Stephen King." King is always popular in my library and people did stop to pick up other titles because of the display. It would be a great theme to showcase some diverse authors who have written books that you can tie to King's bestsellers. 

Unhappy Families is a great theme to for horror. Mix up the genres because people who read psychological suspense will often read horror. 

National Alien Abduction Day is one of those holidays made for book displays. Include some cosmic horror and introduce your patrons to something new. 

HP Lovecraft is another solid theme as long as you remember to include diverse authors and add a variety of cosmic horror titles

World Goth Day - . Include music and DVDs but this is an anytime display that will be fun for patrons and staff.

Scary reads for the beach. People love to read horror in the summer. Guaranteed. "Beach Reads" does not really just mean light and frothy. 

Shapeshift into Fall. This can include romance as well as horror. By using the word shapeshift instead of werewolf, you can draw in people who "don't read horror." An intriguing cover will draw readers to books they might never have discovered. 

When It by Stephen King was released on streaming this was a great opportunity to showcase read alikes.

Creepy Crawlies includes science fiction. There are also some great films you might have in your collection. 

Zombies were a pop culture phenomenon. This is a great anytime book display. 

Genre blended display with witchy books. Include non-fiction and fantasy. 

Horror short stories are extremely popular. I would also drop horror collections into any short story display.

One of the most common readers advisory questions I get is "What do I read after Stephen King or Dean Koontz." This display is my answer. 

Conspiracy theories was as popular as any library worker would expect and lots of horror fits in. 

When Bird Box was on streaming, I set up a readalike book display. Not all of the titles are horror but people stopped because they had at least heard of the show. Let pop culture sensations help you market your collection. 

Getting Ready for February - Black History Month

 

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 patrons find them. 

New Year Book Display Ideas

 

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 otherwise might be getting a little stir crazy. 
It would also serve patrons who don't celebrate those particular winter holidays. 

More ideas can be found in this list of New Year's Resolutions. Steal the heading of the list and customize the titles to fit what you have in your collection. Check your inbox for ideas from publishers this year. 

NPR's article has a great book display idea. Just switch it up a bit - "Find Joy with a New Hobby." Then shift to other ways that your patrons could find joy. This is another way to frame the same idea. 

If you want to showcase some fiction, encourage your patrons to "Meet Someone New" by setting up a display with under loved series fiction. Another angle of this is to search out that translated fiction that might not get enough attention. Don't forget to double check your display for diverse characters and authors. 

Finally, I often have included a "Visit Somewhere New" display with travel and travel narratives. Since we don't know when that will happen again, add fiction with a focus on place to those travel narratives. One option is Akashic Press' Noir Series. 

Other options include: 

Ten Books Where the Setting is a Character/Crime Reads

9 Young Adult Books Where the Settings Are Characters/Bustle 

Top 10 World Building Fantasy Novels/Chicago Public Library 

8 Speculative Fiction Authors Whose Books Are a Lesson in Worldbuilding/Barnes and Noble

What are you going to do for your January book displays? 

Podcasts as inspiration - True Crime Bulls**t

The 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 listener feels as if they are following Hallmark on his journey and joining him in obsession about the case, possible, victims, and new clues. 

To get a sense of the podcast, as well as a similar one about a missing college student, Maura Murray, check out "Serial killers, brutal murder and the rise of the podcast detectives" by Clémence Michallon, The Independent,  12.13.20

Similar titles I would put on a book display:
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara.
The late author takes her readers on her search for a then-unknown murderer and rapist who terrorised Californians for ten years. It's a mix of memoir and reporting that mirrors TCBS in a lot of ways. Both authors take pains to remember the victims lost, telling their stories, while still bringing their audience along as they dive deeper and deeper into a case. 
More: "Michelle McNamara hunted, and was haunted by, the Golden State Killer" by Alexandra Alter, The New York Times,  2.15.18

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote is the classic of the genre. His story switches between the victims, their friends and neighbors, and the murderers. Capote is an additional character in his story. 

More: "In Cold Blood, half a century on" by Ed Pilkington, The Guardian, 11.15.2009

My Dark Places: an L.A. Crime Memoir by James Ellroy is the novelist's telling of his own mother's unsolved murder, how it impacted his life, as well as his consuming search for her killer. While he investigates the case with a retired detective, Ellroy learns more about his secretive mother and her life. 
More: "Murder close to the heart" by Evan Roth, The Washington Post, 5.23.1995

A different sort of book with a similar deep dive into one case with a compelling narrative, and a sense of the very human tragedy in a murder would be Say Nothing: a True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe. This book uses the abduction and murder of a single mother to tell the tragedy of the conflict in Northern Ireland. The stories of individual members of the IRA including Gerry Adams and the murdered woman, Jean McConville, and her family drive a compelling tale of political murder and those left behind. 

More: "How Conflicts End—And Who Can End Them" by David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 3.3.2019

The most recent book written about Israel Keyes specifically is American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century by Maureen Callahan. Fans of TCBS have been critical of the book but your patrons could be interested. 

You can fill in the display with titles about serial killers like Ted Bundy as well as novels with a similar theme and tone to the books listed above. While I don't know your collection, some ideas can be found in these lists: 

100 MUST READ BOOKS ABOUT SERIAL KILLERS/Book Riot

Sarah Nicolas, May 25, 2017

TOP TEN SERIAL KILLER NOVELS/The Strand Magazine
Elizabeth Heiter, January 4, 2016

The Best True Crime Books About Serial Killers/Novel Suspects
Greta Shull

Roaring Twenties Book Display

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. 

Neil Peart Memorial Book Display

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. 

Kobe Bryant Memorial Book Display

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

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 - Food and Cooking

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 - Black Authors and Literature

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.