RA Basics: Promote the Books Patrons Will Not Find on Their Own

Recently I saw this article entitled "I Left Your Favorite Book Off That List On Purpose" over on Book Riot. It was written in response to comments they have received about their lists.

While I am not surprised people get salty about their favs being left off of lists, I think that this article's publication is a good time to remind you of A VERY BASIC RA RULE. Here it is:

Our job is to promote the books patrons would NOT find on their own.

That's RA 101. We do not need to add blockbuster books to our displays and lists. They do not need your help. And even more so, you are not helping your patrons find a book by putting, for example, Stephen King on a Horror list. Everyone knows Stephen King writes Horror. Let's help people find more.

[eds note/shameless plug: I have an entire book about that]

Our job in service to leisure readers at the public library, is to help them find the books they didn't know about or maybe did know about a few years ago and never got to. It is NOT to give them options the they already love. How is that helpful?!?!

Now, you can use popular titles as a carrot to get people to check out your list or display. For instance, you can title a display "Stephen King's Legacy" or "Romance Beyond Nora Roberts." 

Your best displays and promotion are those which feature books that make the average library patron thinks, "Huh, I didn't know about any of these. Yay library for pointing me to books that are 'new' to me!"

Keep this in mind. Always. Highlight books that need the attention, books that people would love if they just knew you owned them, books that could come a new favorite.

This mantra,"Our job is to promote the books patrons would NOT find on their own," should be your guide as you build lists and displays. As you share books with readers. 

Also you need to make sure your lists represent marginalized voices and are not only filled with white, cis authors. This does not mean you display Colson Whitehead, however. He also does not need your help. 

That being said, I would also argue that the titles getting the most censorship backlash right now should also not be on your lists and displays. They are all over the news as well. But what you can do is use titles like Gender Queer or Beloved or Maus as the starting point for lists, and then provide people with other excellent titles that readers of those books may also enjoy, if only they knew about them. 

For every banned book, there are dozens more on the same topic or with similar appeal that never get read. Make a display of books that explore gender identity and include graphic novels, fiction, nonfiction, and more. You can title it, "Beyond Gender Queer." This is your chance to show your patrons the breadth of your collections and make it clear that you are about options, not just what's hot.

I have included a slide from my Booktalking program which highlights some of this in easy to remember bullet points. And this is a good time to add the reminder, that creating displays and book lists is a form of "Booktalking."

Now start promoting the books that need it.

Click here to access all slides