Passively Recommending Books

  While I did post about #QueerAllYear, June is when Pride displays appear in most libraries. During this particular time, there is stress is some libraries about setting up a Pride display given the current political climate. Talk to your supervisor, your administration and work with them on creating the display that will best serve your community. It can be difficult but it is often a question of adjusting what you set up to both promote your collection while not having your June spent arguing with bigots rather than celebrating the LGBTQ community. Ideally, the would not have to make any changes but I understand that sometimes it will be necessary.  As with all these celebratory months, please focus on something other than the darkest parts of history and tragedy. Include biographies about inspirational LGBTQ people and their successes. Do a display with queer artists, poets, and musicians. There are queer cooks, politicians, and humorists.  While there are always struggles and pain

  I was asked several times about making the text of my Karen Lansdale Silver Hammer Award speech available. The text is below.  I would like to thank the board, including those who were on when I started. Meghan learned how many questions a librarian can ask after one makes a simple query. Love to the Halloween Librarians who are huddled out there somewhere. They volunteer to help get more horror in libraries and to promote the genre anyway they can. They have made StokerCon a wonderful gathering place for librarians curious about horror. Special thank you to Becky Spratford, our secretary and head Halloween Librarian. She is the one who convinced me to join the HWA and to volunteer. She has poured so much energy into the organization over the years. Those who volunteer as board members put in hours and hours of work every week and they deserve our thanks for helping to keep the HWA alive and running.   The StokerCon chairs and volunteers spend a year planning this conference. There

 Read a great book? One that stuck with you? Use it to inspire a book display or list! As an exercise to show that there are plenty of ways to approach a book, I have made multiple posts using one book to inspire a display.  You don’t even need to mention the book in the display. Pick one aspect of the book – setting, theme, character, and use it to fill in a display. A romance novel set in New Orleans can inspire a display about that city. A horror novel about a dysfunctional family? A historical novel about 14th century Japan? Fill it in with a mix of genres and a simple sign.  This is another way that you can use a popular/best selling title to create a display without using valuable space to promote a book that your patrons have already heard about. Advertise your holds list (no, not everyone knows how easy it is) and find some other books that can be tied into that great book you just read. Use a sign that says "Waiting for [popular title]? Try these while you wait!"  He

 June is nearly here and the year is closing in on its midpoint. The big holidays for the month are usual topics for book displays and lists along with Pride month which I will cover in a separate post. But there are some other possibilities.  June 1 is National Pen Pal Day which calls to mind epistolary novels and non-fiction about letter writing.  Pair up June 4th’s hug your cat day with June 15th’s National Dog Dad Day. There are plenty of adult and juvenile fiction options here.  June 6 is D Day. Books about World War 2 are always popular. Whether fiction or non-fiction.  June 8 is Best Friends Day. If epistolary novels are not to your taste, why not find books about best friends? Identify books that could be best friends.  June 14  is World Blood Donor day. While this is a great opportunity to join forces with your local blood bank, it also should remind you of vampires which are having another moment.  June 16th is Father’s Day Even if you use books with dad, father etc in their

  I will be attending the Horror Writers Association 's StokerCon   from May 30 - June 2, 2024. As part of Librarian's Day , I am moderating "What Horror Means to Me" on May 31 at 1 pm PT featuring the 2024 Guests of Honor: Paula Guran, Justina Ireland, Jonathan Maberry, Nisi Shawl, and Paul Tremblay  . On May 31, at 2 pm  PT  I will be moderating "The Heart of Horror: Getting the Most Out of The Horror Writers Association" with Steven Morley, Linda D. Addison, Maxwell Ian Gold, John Edward Lawson, Brian Matthews, Sumiko Saulson, and Lisa Wood.  Finally, I am participating in " The Books Unbanned Initiative" on June 1 at 11 am  PT  This panel will be focusing on banning challenges facing libraries and how authors can support libraries in the fight against censorship and banning. This panel is on June 1 at 11 am. The panel includes Paula D. Ashe, Sarah Read, Ben Rubin, James Sabata, and Misty Jones.  Next up after StokerCon, is a webinar for PCI Web

People love book suggestions from celebrities. Former President Barack Obama puts out an annual list of his favorite movies, books, and music. Michelle Obama has also mentioned books she enjoyed. There are certainly plenty of successful book clubs attached to celebrities. An Instagram account called Celeb Book Recs collects book suggestions from a variety of celebrities as does the account Book Recommendations from Celebs . If you see a popular celebrity recommend a book, take note. When you have enough, it makes for a great book display or list. Just watch for diverse authors and titles that are not bestsellers. Also, no one needs to be introduced to classics like The Great Gatsby or The Old Man and The Sea through your book displays.  I have included a few lists below that can help get you started. Harness the power of celebrity to help move your backlist! Your Favorite Sci-Fi Author's Favorite Sci-Fi Book This list features book recommendations from bestselling science fiction

  #QueerAllYear As Pride Month approaches, I would like to remind everyone that books by LGBTQ+ creators and with LGBTQ+ characters should be promoted all year. On various social media platforms, you may have seen the hashtag #QueerAllYear. In the face of the attempts to silence and further marginalize this community, libraries should remember that we can include these titles to our book displays and lists to help bring some positive attention to these books and authors. In addition, buying books by marginalized authors is only part of the equation. The other part is to get the word out to your patrons. Remember to include books by LGBTQ+ authors in your book display and book lists. Diversity is not a genre so when you promote romance, mysteries, horror and other genres, books by diverse authors should always be included.   While they can be a creative outlet for staff, the primary purpose of a good book display should be to draw attention to titles that readers may not discover o