Week 15 Prompt Response

Collaborative Summer Library Program Header

One of the biggest, and most common, ways that my library promotes the fiction collection is rotating displays. Each month, we set up at least 5 different displays that are either themed to the month or that highlight a subject that we feel could circulate more. For example, for Autism Acceptance Month, we’ve set up a display that features materials written by or starring autistic people. In this way, we simultaneously feature part of the collection and also spreads awareness about a topic. 

Each year, my library participates in the Collaborative Summer Library Program, which sets a common theme for libraries across the country to use for their summer reading clubs. Last year, the theme was “Oceans of Possibilities” and in order to promote the collection, our Readers’ Advisory department offered a virtual program called “A Sea of Stories.” For this program, six staff members were invited to present a short book talk about five books with water as a main component. I participated, and spoke about books like Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor and River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey. This program enabled staff, who are around books all day and are therefore very familiar with the collection, to expose patrons to various books that they might not have found otherwise.

Finally, my library offers a large collection of book discussion kits for patron check out. These kits typically include popular fiction, though there are some that include science fiction and/or fantasy novels. A patron can browse through over a hundred book discussion kits which they can borrow, which both enables them to run their own book clubs and also brings awareness of the library’s services to those who may not have their own library card.

My personal favorite is definitely the themed book talks, because it’s so interesting to see what my colleagues, who are usually people I never see given the size of my library system, choose to read and promote.