Need a New Resource for Suggestions or Displays? Ask Another Library

My Ten Rules of Basic RA Service includes this important but often forgotten rule:

Click here for all 10 rules

Notice the bulleted point....working together also includes working with other libraries.

When you are feeling in a rut either with your display ideas or the suggestions you are giving out to people, when you feel like you need to shake things up, the best place to go for inspiration is...another library!

One of the easiest ways to identify what other libraries are doing is to search the #BookDisplay hashtag on Twitter. Again, for my non Twitter using readers, you can just use this link to see the Tweets without logging in. But if you want a specific person who does a great job promoting simple and frequent display ideas, use St Pete, FL librarian Lila's feed, @vantine, here. She has enough ideas in a month to keep you stocked all year long.

In terms of finding libraries with excellent book lists online, one of my favorites is here near my house, the Indian Prairie Public Library. Click here to see their extensive book lists, and side note, they love to share them with others. I like their lists not only because the website is easy to navigate and has thousands of lists, but also because I know for a fact that they have their lists of a rotated schedule to make sure they get updated, adding new titles on a regular schedule. Also, they have a commitment to making sure their lists are equitable, diverse, and inclusive. So you cannot go wrong.

Those are but 2 suggestions. There are thousands of libraries all over this country, big and small. Any or all of them could provide a spark for a new suggestion or display, one you could never have come up with on your own. And, hey, isn't that what libraries are here to do...help people access information they couldn't find on their own. It's just in this case the patron is another library.

No matter where you get your ideas, the over all point I wanted to make today is that we all need to work together more. In this case, by looking to other libraries virtually, especially those you wouldn't interact with physically, you will get new ideas, from different perspectives. And while there are definitely regional differences in what is most popular at any given moment, take it from me, someone who travels to libraries all over the country for a living, library patrons are way more similar than they are different. Something that works in FL, will also work in IL.

And conversely, if you have ideas for book lists and displays, share them on your websites and social media so that other libraries can learn from you. Working together is a two way street.

Broaden your access to ideas and resources by working together.