Prompt Response 15
I am a library marketing person, so marketing and advocating
for all things “library” is my passion. The three best ways that I would promote the
fiction collection in my public library are book displays, a “staff picks” blog
linked to the library website, and creative social media. Honorable mentions also
go to book talks, read-alike bookmarks, book discussions, and email lists that patrons can join to be emailed when the newest books of a certain genre come in. For many years,
there was a well-attended romance book discussion at my library around the
fireplace every fourth Tuesday night. Book discussions are highly effective at getting participants to read, but that is not what I wanted to focus on for this assignment.
Book Displays
Book displays can be as creative and intricate as you have
time for. They can be ironic, like in the case of the “the cover was red” book
displays. They can have themes like “as seen on #booktok” or “beach reads”. At
work this week, I am working with librarians at my library to plan a summer
reading-themed book display for the iRead theme of Read, Renew, Repeat. The
books are about conservation and self-renewal.
Ripple (2003) calls book displays “The most effective way to
recommend books” (p. 152). While this article was written without consideration
for patrons who mostly check out e-books, this still applies to print books. The
location of the book display is also important. Ripple (2003) said “books on
display near the front desk are 300% to 1,000% more frequently checked out than
books on the shelf” (p. 152).
If, for example, I was promoting military fiction to public
library patrons, I would put a display in the library lobby with a big, colorful
sign describing the display in four or fewer words. I would do the display to
correspond with an appropriate military-related holiday or career-themed week.
Librarian Recommendation Blog
I envision a “Staff Picks” webpage linked to the homepage of
a public library website to be a place where librarians can submit 4 to 8
sentence quick reviews enticing patrons to check out fiction books. This type
of fiction book marketing is a lot more e-book friendly, because you can link
to the e-book right there on the webpage. Librarians know their community
better than national book sellers, so librarians can write enticing book synopsizes
and reviews to target their community the best. Plus, community members may be
more likely to trust a book review from their own local librarian than from a
talking head in the national media. This is a way to promote the fiction collection
as a whole, but it could broken out more by genre if there was an ability to
grow it regularly.
Creative Social Media
Creative social media marketing is more than making a
billboard for a fiction book. To be most effective, it should illicit feelings.
People should become invested in the story, or the appeal factors should be
highlighted in a way that it translates well. Not many libraries have the money
and time to invest in this kind of marketing. One example of a bookstore that illustrates
appeal factors well on social media is McNally Robinson Booksellers. In this Tiktok,
they describe how much graphic romance or spice is in each recommended book by
placing the chili pepper stuffy closer or farther away from the camera/screen.
I have read two fiction books based on their recommendations.
I might like to, in the future, think of ways that my library can promote fiction novels specifically. The closest we get on social media right now is that we promote our Readers' Advisory service, called Book Match. We took a picture of Mary Alice, a well-known and loved librarian that works regularly at our public service desk, and we explained in the post what Book Match is by highlighting a patron that requested to use it. Then, we explained how Mary Alice followed the process and what her deliverables were. You can see this creative social media post here if you have Facebook.
Overall, I think the best fiction book marketing tool is whatever tool will best meet your community's needs. You can book talk on TikTok all day and get millions of views, but if that does not translate to more real patrons helped in your own library, it does not mean anything.
Rippel, C. (2003). What public libraries
can learn from superbookstores. APLIS, 16(4), 147-155.
I remember doing a "I don't remember the title, but the cover was blue!" display at one of the libraries I worked at, and it always makes me chuckle to think back on both staff and patron responses to it :)
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how your staff picks recommendations are specifically a digital resource, rather than a physical display (not to say a physical display isn't good, too!), especially since it can very easily link to the library's eResoures. And you're so right about being more likely to trust the word of a local librarian, regarding reviews and opinions on titles!
HI Maryanne, Thanks for the feedback. I agree. A physical display of staff picks would be good too.
DeleteI love the idea of a staff picks blog! It would be so fun to read about what each librarian would recommend to read.
ReplyDeleteI also think that social media is important for libraries. Not only can you show off what materials you have but it also let's the public get to know the people that work there and the things that happen at the library.
I really enjoyed reading the Book Match post! I actually checked out more of your library's Facebook page and saw that you have chicks! Our library has chicks every year too and it is so much fun. Getting to name them all is the absolute best!
Jackie, we do a "Recommended Reads" flyer that is books the librarians recommend. But I like your idea about having a little text included - kind of how our readings talk about that we need to keep notes on our books and write up short summaries and evaluations of them - we have to get used to doing that. As a reader if I see a title I might consider it, but I really want to know a bit more about the book before I pick it up. Having the blog online makes it more accessible. It might be interesting to have some physical posters of the books with their descriptions in the library for those patrons who don't use computers much, though.
ReplyDeleteJanna, I agree. I want to know a little more as a reader too.
DeleteHi Jackie! I loved this! You provided concrete examples that I really want to steal for my library. You are actually right next door to me. I work at New Lenox Public Library! I have visited your library and have admired all the bright signage. You all do a great job over there. I appreciate your point about the display location. Where we put displays is important indeed! I also liked how you highlighted staff picks and what you said about patrons trusting their librarians to recommend a good book. Staff pick lists and in-library displays always catch our patrons' attention!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy being part of my Libraries email list on new releases. Since I never go to the library anymore, this helps keep me in the loop.
ReplyDeleteI agree that displays are essential to marketing a collection. At my library, we have done the "I don't know what book it is, but it is red" display. My favorite is romance novels with men on the cover without their shirts, and we made a display that said, "Where is his shirt?" I still crack up at the thought of that display.
ReplyDeleteWe have our own version of book match and it can be very popular! I love all your ideas and I love the included links! Great response!
ReplyDelete