READ ALL THE BOOKS!

Today's question is What do you think are the best ways to market your library's fiction collection? Name and describe three ways you do or would like to market your library or your future library's fiction. These can be tools, programs, services, displays - anything that you see as getting the word out.

Thanks to a staff person with a passion for readers’ advisory, the Brownsburg Public Library (where I presently work) already has a number of tools that assist in marketing our fiction (and non-fiction in some cases) collection.

Here is what we currently have in place:

·       At the front/middle of the fiction stacks we have an iPad that is set to our Novelist screen. Patrons can search for read-alikes or for books based on genre, appeal terms, etc.

·       Beside the iPad is a spinning rack with genre and read-alike bookmarks. These are updated every few years.

·       Each week a Wowbrary newsletter is sent to patrons (who have opted to receive it) with a listing of the newest additions to our collections.

In addition to these tools, I might add the following:

·       I am intrigued by Saricks’ (2005) idea of  “Good Books You May Have Missed” book truck. Keeping it near the front of the library is the ideal location because it’s near the Information Services desk so patrons would be able to ask questions about the books or discuss them. Also, it is near the indoor return slot, so for anyone who is running short on time, this gives them the opportunity to grab and go. It also gets those forgotten books back into the hands of the patrons!!

·       While we do have the bookmarks, I would like to add annotated book lists. The bookmarks are a good starting point, but as Saricks (2005) states, “…it is often impossible to tell anything about a work of fiction solely from its title.” Also, the annotated book lists “…provide some of the benefits of readers’ advisory to patrons who feel uncomfortable talking with staff about their reading interests” (Saricks, 2005).

·       Our website could really use a makeover (IMO), and one thing that could definitely be added is an online RA service. I believe that an online readers’ advisory form would benefit both the library and our patrons. Burke & Strothman (2015) list several advantages to the online RA form, including: patron privacy and convenience, low-pressure service, more deliberate and precise feedback, making patrons aware that a RA service in the library exists, and promoting the contents of the library’s collections. In researching online RA forms, I located an excellent RA form on the Williamsburg Regional Library website, titled “Looking for a Good Book.” It includes sections on genres and formats, the patron’s reading history, characters, setting, peeves and pleasures (appeal and repel terms), content, length, tone/style/mood, and length (Williamsburg, n.d.)

REFERENCES

Burke, S. K., & Strothmann, M. (2015). Adult Readers' Advisory Services through Public Library Websites. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 55(2), 132-143. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database

Photo Credit: http://www.briansarnacki.com/read-all-the-books/

Saricks, J. (2005) Promoting and marketing readers’ advisory collections and services. In Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library. Chicago: ALA. 136-160

Williamsburg Regional Library. (n.d.). Looking for a Good Book. Retrieved April 20, 2018, from https://www.wrl.org/books-and-reading/adults/looking-good-book