Pages

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Week 15 Prompt

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.

The best way to market a library's fiction collection really depends on the library and the community served. If the library is located in an area with mostly elderly patrons, then Facebook marketing may not be effective, but a display of large print books would work much better. Here is how I would market the fiction collection in my library:

Displays: For the library that I work in, I find that displays are the most effective.

Here are the two permanent new book displays that are the most prominent in my YA collection:



They're in a location that is really hard to miss, so that helps generate interest. I also plan on creating special displays for certain topics in the future.

Booklists: We get a lot of requests for books that are romance novels, or books that have been made into movies and the like. We have binders with booklists in several different locations of the library: one in the children's section for children's books, one in the YA collection for teens, one in adult fiction and one at the circulation desk (mainly for the adult fiction). My plan for the future is to create bookmarks with bestsellers and award winning books. I'd also like to do lists and bookmarks for certain topics like Banned Books week, the best Summer reads, etc.

Facebook/Social Media: An additional step that we take at our library is to take photos of our new book displays and post them on Facebook so that patrons can see that we've received a new shipment. We always make sure to say "New Arrivals" rather than "New Releases" because sometimes we do get older books to help develop our collection. Unfortunately, we have a dedicated social media person, so I'm not allowed to make social media posts which is upsetting. As the teen librarian, I want to cultivate an Instagram and Twitter account to post new books, quotes from books, a book to spotlight each week, etc. If I had my choice, that's what I would do to promote my collection.

2 comments:

  1. Great prompt response! You've got some innovative ideas that can definitely help! I love that you included pictures as well. Full points!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like how the covers are prominently displayed. This makes browsing easier and allows readers the option to inspect new books and authors.

    ReplyDelete