Nobel Prize to Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa

Well, he wasn't listed in the official odds last week, but yesterday I was hearing buzz that the pick would be from South America.

Mario Vargas Llosa it was early this morning. He is the first writer from South America to win the prize in Gabriel Garcia Marquez won in 1982. I am just happy that I have read Llosa before. In the last few years, I have been hard pressed to have even heard of the winning authors.  Click here for the official announcement.

Also click here for a wonderful article about Llosa from NPR.

Llosa is an author whose works you should already have on your library shelves. So pull them out, make a sign, and share this information with your readers.

Since this announcement comes during Hispanic Heritage month, you may want to highlight a few other South American writers with Llosa. It is a nice tangential display.

I would suggest including Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jorge Luis Borges, Isabel Allende, and Roberto Bolano. Every public library should have books by all of these authors. And if you do not already, you really need to add some to your collection.

The point I am trying to make here, is to take these major literary prize announcements and use them to draw attention to as many books as possible. So, today everyone will be talking about Llosa. Build off of their interest by starting a conversation about South American writers in general.

It is fine and dandy to put out Llosa's books, but our patrons can look him up in the catalog themselves. As the RA librarian, you need to take the next step for your patrons. I am not talking elaborate displays here. Just find some empty space, on the service desk even, and put out some books by South American authors. I bet you will be shocked by how many leave the building.