Two Resources in One: An Award That Is a Great Display Idea On Its Own

Because I make sure to start each day reading about books through my email subscriptions to PW Daily, Self Awareness, and LJ's Book Pulse, I learned about the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award. From the announcement in Shelf Awareness:

A 12-title longlist has been released for the 2022 Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award, which celebrates "the best storytelling across contemporary fiction, regardless of genre." The shortlist will be unveiled July 28. The winner, who receives both £2,000 (about $2,505) and a handmade glass bell, will be named September 8. This year's longlisted titles are:

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
Tall Bones by Anna Bailey
Mrs. March by Virginia Feito
We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan
The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.
Sisterstong by Lucy Holland 
The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper 
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson 
The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean 
Threadneedle by Cari Thomas

Normally I write about how to use awards lists as a RA tool when I post award long lists, and while that is important here, what is more important is the idea encompassed by this award's mission. This is an award for great storytelling REGARDLESS OF GENRE.

We need to stop only displaying and promoting books by genre. Readers do not care about genre as much as we think. People who like to read in a particular genre know how to find those titles. However, the vast majority of our patrons are just looking for a great read. 

I have been on a kick telling every library I work with to keep a permanent display up at all times called "Great Reads You May Have Missed." This display or list can have anything on it AND it can feature the backlist AND you can encourage patrons to contribute to as well. 

It is a display that is a conversation between you and your collection, between you and your patrons, and even between your patrons and your collections. You can ask any staff member to contribute titles to it, meaning you are capturing the preferences of all staff, no matter where the work in the organization. You can display forgotten books that are languishing on the shelves but are still so good. And, if you are brave enough, you can even ask you patrons to contribute to the display, adding their voice to it as well.

This is a display that focuses on good storytelling with no genre constraints. This type of merchandising of your collection also showcases the wide variety of titles you have in one place which is not what patrons normally encounter. 

Think about it. Most libraries have a new shelf, but this display would be backlist. Also most libraries have some genre separation on sections, meaning those browsing the general fiction may never see your mysteries or SF or Romance, even though they may love one of those titles. Putting these books together, but in a smaller area than the entirety of your collection, means people will encounter great storytelling they may NEVER have found. And if it becomes a permanent display, not only will it change constantly, but patrons will go back to it over and over again. 

So check out the Goldsboro long list and pull these 12 titles right now, but consider finding a place [big or small] where you can always feature great storytelling, from any genre.