The excellent Tor.Com website has rebranded as Rector. The new site has all of the old content, but moving forward they are broadening their scope. Click here for more on that.
Today I want to point out one of my favorite columns on this site (new and old)-- Five Books About. From the column's landing page:
Guest authors curate lists of five books centered on a theme — a common subgenre, a shared trope, an unusual character trait, a specific plot point, or whatever else sparks their imagination!
There are a lot of "Five Books About" columns to choose from on topics from across the book landscape, and most are evergreen. Obviously you can use any of them to make a quick small display, but I am here to encourage you to use this idea to start a library wide conversation that will lead to interactive displays.
Why not have an ongoing "Five Books About" display up in your libraries. You can begin with the topics on the Reactor site but then pool the staff for ideas and lists. Send out an email to all staff with a link to the series, explain that you want to start a local version of this fun conversation, and encourage anyone who wants (no matter where they fall on the organizational chart) to propose their own topic and 5 books.
When you ask all staff to help build displays, not only do you get a fresh and diverse look at the titles to include in your displays (rather than relying on yourself and your staff over and over again) but you also are actively team building as all staff become involved with our brand-- books. Do not underestimate how much someone in a behind the scenes job has to offer our readers, or even how someone in children's might be bursting to share adult titles. I know I was always sharing my favorite Middle Grade titles with the youth staff from my time volunteering at the elementary school library. Reminder, I worked in ADULT fiction. No one ever asked me to share my kid lit recommendations. I did without invite and they appreciated it. In return I asked for their adult recommendations for our displays. All of our displays improved because of it.
All you need to do to make this display an ongoing thing is to put up a sign that says "Five Books About" and then slap on the title for each new one. You can even make the added part handwritten. While it is up, have a box with slips of paper where patrons (or staff) can add their own titles to the current display. As the first 5 books get checked out (and they will fairly quickly), you can add the new titles. Before you know it, you have an interactive display.
And, you knew this was coming too, turn this into a regular online feature. You can do it once a week, on a specific day once a month (like the 5th of each month, that would be fun), or every 2 weeks, whatever you want. But post a "Five Books About" topic with 5 books and then ask people to add more. If you want, add them to the in-library display, but if you do that, encourage your online participants to come and see the display and check the books suggest day others out. Or add links to where they can download said titles.
Eventually, you can extend the conversation from asking patrons to add to the topics you propose to asking them for topics and five books they suggest.
My favorite way to solicit answers to conversation starters from patrons is to put questions in every book on the hold shelf and see what kind of responses you get. For more on how to make that happen, please see my Conversation Starters to Display post.
At the every least however, you can mine Reactor's site for many good "Five Books About" columns for interesting lists and displays you can use online or in the building to help your patrons find their next good read.
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