Marketing

Book Display

This has always been one of my top choices when trying to market a section or genre of book. I just think it works really well especially when the display in positioned right in the library. With any library of a good size, books can all start looking the same if a patron is just browsing, not sure what they are looking for. Bringing some books out of the shadows and into a display can give them the attention they may have missed otherwise. I really liked the suggestion from our reading with the “Good Books You May Have Missed” display and how it was handled. Having a continuous display like that is a great way to get those books with less media hype a chance to shine. A library I worked at also had a “New Books” display where some of the newest books were shown to let patrons know that they’d arrived. I also liked this idea but thought it could have been handled better. It was stocked and then kind of left alone until someone chose to restock it.

Booktalks/ Book clubs

Talking about books is a great way to generate interest. Since librarians usually head these when connected to a library, patrons can also feel that they are getting knowledgeable advice. Booktalks more so if the patron only wants some suggestions and doesn’t want to necessarily come to continuous meetings or wait for others to read their next book. Book clubs are a great way to get people to talk about books and also advertise some great reads. Either way, even if patrons don’t wish to come to these events personally, having the listings of books covered in booktalks or what the book club will be reading can be a great advertisement. Seeing that these books are interesting enough to be included in such events can get patrons to want to read them just by association.

Flyers/Bookmarks

This type of advertisement is my third choice for fiction since rather easy for any library to do and can draw attention if done right. I like the bookmarks idea best since it’s something the patron can take with them and use later on. Taking it with them lets them see the titles outside the library and perhaps gives them a chance to do some research without having to try and remember them just in their head. Flyers can be a great way to point out award books or a listing of a specific genre that may need some boosting or isn’t known very well. I used to be in charge of making flyers for the junior’s section in a library and usually included those that had won awards. This way, the patron could have an idea of how good the book was and could check it out either with a librarian or by themselves.