1. Book Club (Program)
I think a book club helps market the fiction collection
through several avenues that include social and promotional aspects. Beginning
with the social aspects of a book club, there are two intents, creating a
culture around the love of fiction and growing in the understanding of the
inherent power of storytelling. Both of these ideals create a ‘buzz’ around
reading. The book club meetings are a guided invitation to share your love of
reading and books, but they imply an invitation to the fiction collection. When
promoting the book club through social media and flyers, a focus on the book is
as important as explaining the program.
2. Dress Like a Super
Hero Night (Event)
This is an idea I had to support our growing graphic novel
and manga selection in our teen space. This would be a one-off event where the
youth and I would don costumes of our favorite super heroes and have a short
book talk about a graphic novel. My library has had success with evening
‘lock-in’ style programs and this could be a fun twist on it that includes
cosplay, maybe even involving the makerspace for the costumes, a superhero
movie and video games in the in between times. Throughout the night integrated
advising could be used to show parts of the graphic novel and manga collection
that correspond with all the other super hero media.
3. Bookmarks
I love the idea of
offering bookmarks that highlight a specific part of the collection. Saricks
writes, “We have found that the more useful bookmarks focus on limited subject
areas for which full annotations are not necessary” (144). An example might be
a focus on beach reading in the summer or spooky titles in the fall. They are
also an invitation to explore the collection that is guided, suggesting a good
title so the patron doesn’t fear that they will not enjoy the book they leave
with. I also love that bookmarks have a useful purpose, unlike an annotated
bibliography where after it is read is most likely discarded, bookmarks after
they are used in the current book are a reminder of other books like the title
that was just enjoyed. I love tangible
promotional materials that can serve multiple purposes.
Dustin,
ReplyDeleteI like the excitement of Dressing Like a Super Hero night....sounds like a hit with teens. Do you do Movie tie-ins with the superhero night/ lock-ins? Seems like there are a lot of hit superhero movie releases these past few years...just a thought.
Book clubs are interesting...in my limited experience, many patrons have said they don't have time to attend book clubs, but, a select few really love them. Has your library tried a virtual book club/ book discussion where patrons could chat virtually? Just wondering.
Thanks!
Dear Dustin,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your idea of using social aspects with a book club. Using social aspects will spread the word about books, and the emphasis on social elements will naturally assist with connecting individuals to different topics of relevance. Also, I appreciate your idea of incorporating superheroes for the promotion of books. I believe that superheroes are immensely popular due to the recent amount of superhero films from Marvel Studios and DC Films. Additionally, cosplay is a big deal for enthusiasts of popular culture and video games. You are also correct with your conclusion of involving the makerspace for costumes. The Georgetown library branch near my location additionally uses its makerspace for the creation of costumes. So, utilizing costumes that were created from a makerspace for an event seems to be an appropriate activity.
I’m not sure if bookmarks are really an effective way to encourage library patrons to read. Although Saricks believes in her article that bookmarks are beneficial for focusing on limited subject areas (Saricks, 2005, p. 144), I do not believe that bookmarks will catch the attention of ordinary individuals, since the design and purpose of bookmarks are relatively simple from my experience. Bookmarks can be designed in an enjoyable manner, but I also believe that annotated bibliographies would last substantially longer than bookmarks, since they function as a point of reference or information. So, I disagree with you on the practicality of bookmarks to an extent.
References used:
Saricks, J. (2005). Promoting and marketing readers’ advisory collections and services [PDF
file]. In Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library. Chicago: ALA. 136-160.
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I like your idea of dressing like a superhero. I think maybe dressing like a superhero should happen during the day as well, that way you might get some of the adults interested in YA books.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea about dress like a superhero and talking about graphic novels. I remember 2 years ago the summer reading theme was superheros and it was one of the best programs we had. We had several events that had over 100 people at them. Superheros can get people in the doors and then add a book talk about the graphic novel sounds great.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! I like the superhero idea especially! Way to think outside the box!
ReplyDelete