One of my favourite parts of being a librarian in a public library is putting together fun displays to showcase different aspects of our collection. When coming up with ideas for displays I try to make it easier for staff to keep the shelves attractive and full by picking themes that aren’t too specific. I’m not in the branch every day, so it often falls on other staff members to fill in gaps and replace books that have been checked out, which is, after all, the entire point of making displays! These displays are in addition to our seasonal displays, like Black History Month, Easter,Passover or Women’s History Month.
Here are a few displays I’ve put together recently:
After several caregivers came in looking specifically for books with boy protagonists, I put together this little display. These books aren’t necessarily for boys, as anyone can and should read books about characters of any gender, but it was helpful for readers who were specifically looking for books starring boys, and I was happy to see titles flying of the shelves. The display featured books from across genres and formats, including novels, graphic novels, early readers and picture books, and whenever possible I highlighted stories of BIPOC, queer, and/or disabled boys. Interestingly, there are considerably more novels with female protagonists than male ones.
So much of our popular media is based on books. This display featured books that had been turned into movies, TV shows or games, as well as book tie-ins with popular franchises. We had classic novels like The Secret Garden and Anne of Green Gables, together with more recent titles like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate and even some comic books like Tintin and Garfield. Early readers are a great source of titles for a display like this, as they’re often based on popular kids TV shows or cartoon characters.
This was such a fun display to put together – there are so many books with wonderful stories of friendship. Some titles featured in the display were entries from The Babysitters Club and Big Nate series, graphic novels like Real Friends and Best Friends, Roller Girl, and books for emerging readers like Elephant and Piggie and Narwhal and Jelly.
This display couldn’t be easier – just fill it with books about animals! There are so many picture books, readers, graphic novels and nonfiction titles about our furry friends, and these titles inevitably fly off the shelves.
I couldn’t do a boy book display without also doing a girl display, with books that feature female protagonists. Of course whenever possible I highlighted stories of queer, disabled and/or BIPOC girls. Because all girls deserve to see themselves in our libraries.
Have you put up any fun displays in your library recently?