prompt #9 (week 15)

At my library, I'd say we do most of our fiction collection promotion via displays. With the exception of a few permanent ones that remain consistently popular, most displays around the branch are simple: a series of books relating to one overarching theme (i.e., pets, nature, travel) chosen by a staff member that changes every month. These have served us well in enabling us to promote aspects of our collections, but I'd love to be able to do more with our displays. Something I'd be interested in trying out is patron-involved displays. When I envision this, I think of things as simple as allowing patrons to recommend books to each other via white board discussion they can quickly join upon entering the building or recommendation bookmarks that can be placed in a book of their choice. But I'd love to test out more elaborate ideas, too, like a "Reader of the Week" display near the front desk. Patrons would be encouraged to apply via online form, then, if chosen, the Reader will curate their own mini-collection (3-5 books) and explain why they picked these titles. Putting this display on/near the front desk will allow it to be seen by more patrons than some displays elsewhere in the stacks, as people typically do have to pass the front desk to enter the main library area. Ultimately, getting patrons involved in creating displays only increases their connection to our library, plus it will likely result in library staff learning more about our patronage and, perhaps, our fiction collection. 

Another thing I'd love to be able to do is promote our collection via outreach efforts. Outreach events are few and far between for my library, at least at the branch level. Most of the time, our presence at events is primarily to promote general library services and sign new patrons up for library cards. Highlighting our physical holdings is rarely done, aside from a few books being used as examples/displays when relevant for the event. Therefore, I think it could be interesting to find ways to promote our fiction collection beyond the boundaries of our library branches and out in our communities. Pop-up libraries are a huge trend in the library world right now, in both the academic and public realms, and it's easy to understand why. It's one thing to sign up for a library card at a booth at a local festival and come away with a free pen; it's another to be able to literally browse a selection of the collection while you're out walking your dog at your neighborhood park and come away with your next read. Plus, checking out a book from a pop-up means patrons will have to stop by their nearest branch to return it, increasing the likelihood of them coming inside to take a look at the rest of the stacks. 

Lastly, having now learned so much more about the types of RA services librarians can provide, I'd really like to find a way to incorporate Readers' Advisory elements into collection promotion. Currently in my library system, formal RA is handled by a small, dedicated team of two/three people who primarily work out of a staff-only administrative building. They can be contacted via online form when patrons want curated recommendations, but are rarely out at the branches with patrons. This doesn't mean that RA doesn't happen daily at the branch level, of course. It just means circulation staff have to handle these types of requests, even though many don't know about helpful RA tools/tricks or feel confident offering recommendations outside of the genres they read. However, there are ways to provide passive RA services that can alleviate the stress for staff, highlight our system's formal RA services, and, most crucially, promote our fiction collection. One of the things I'd love to do is create Readalike Bookmarks that can be placed on displays, at the desks, and even within the books themselves for readers to find. Bookmarks could also be made that promote new/popular titles within a particular genre or offer recommended reads based on popular movies/tv shows. Honestly, our patrons just really seem to love bookmarks, so anything we put together will do promotion for us! I also think it'd be worthwhile to use signage or displays around the branch and within the stacks to promote RA services like the personalized reading form, the many databases that can be used for RA that patrons can access via our website, and the LibraryAware genre-based email blasts they can subscribe to. Not only will this enlighten our patrons to these helpful services, it will help staff members become familiar with them, too. When a popular author's books are flying off the shelves, it could be helpful to place a little sign where their books normally would be on the shelf that says something like "Looking for [X]? Try [Y] or [Z]!" and provides the URL for the Reader's Corner page. Then, instead of the patron leaving disappointed, they might find another book to read and learn about a library service or two.