Passively Recommending Books

The New England Library Association Conference 2021 has Diversity Day today. I have the pleasure of presenting with Andria L. Amaral of the Charleston County Public Library and Paula Willey of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. Our session is titled Promoting Inclusion and Empathy with Passive Programming. Their book, The Passive Programming Playbook: 101 Ways to Get Library Customers off the Sidelines, is a great addition to anyone's professional collection and is especially relevant today.  The slideshow is below in case you missed it. 

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

  February is Women in Horror Month . This is a great time to bring your library's horror out for a non-Halloween display. Again, I guarantee you that it will circulate all year.  Be broad and include non-fiction works like true crime if you need to. You can also grab some psychological suspense as there is a lot of crossover fans.  On the sign, I included the URL for the official Women in Horror Month website as well as RA for All - Horror, a great resource for any library worker looking to get more information about horror.  The Horror Writers of America have a great blog with i nformation about diverse authors . Authors' groups are very supportive of libraries and are a wonderful resource.  Mother Horror - Sadie Hartman is a horror reviewer and part owner of Night Worms Horror Book Box subscription service. Check out her Twitter and Instagram for more ideas.  Putting out genres like horror in February when your patrons might be expecting something else will draw their att

  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

  On Politics and Book Displays My first instinct is to say "don't." It can be difficult and is usually not worth the amount of difficulty that you will face. However, it's totally acceptable to grab subjects from the news and toss up a book display. (Please make certain you know your library's policies and the thoughts of your administration if you have any second thoughts.) How do you break down a news event into subjects? In 2017, I put up an FBI themed display. I  used fiction and non-fiction titles. The sign simply had the FBI logo. You have the option of so many thrillers, romantic suspense, and mysteries. There are histories of the agencies and books about famous agents and cases.  No one complained and the display was successful in getting books into the hands of patrons.  This display in March of 2017 invited patrons to "Learn more about Russia." The books were mostly about modern Russia and Putin. Within a few days, the books on Putin were all

  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