Circulating Ideas Podcast: Passive Readers’ Advisory, with Lila Denning

I am on an airplane this morning en route to my book event event in MA, but I wanted to alert you all the Steve Thomas' excellent podcast Circulating Ideas, specifically his most recent episode. Click here or see below. 

306: Passive Readers’ Advisory, with Lila Denning

Steve chats with collection development librarian Lila Denning about passive readers’ advisory, practical tips for creating effective book displays, making displayed accessible and inclusive, partnering with local businesses to promote library services and collections, and how the horror genre helps readers understand different perspectives and emotions.

Read the transcript!

Lila Denning is a librarian in Florida specializing in Passive Readers’ Advisory for patrons of all ages. She is the Acquisitions Coordinator for the St Petersburg Library System and has worked in circulation, collection development, reference, and youth services. She serves the volunteer coordinator for the Horror Writers Association. You can find her  on BlueSky @Vantine.bsky.social. On her blog, bookdisplays.blogspot.com, she talks about ideas for book displays and other forms of Passive Readers Advisory and how to best use it to serve your patrons.

SHOW NOTES:

Passively Recommending Books

While this episode gives you an introduction to Lila's work and provides the link to her blog, I want to direct you specifically to this post where Lila introduces who she is and how she can help you and your staff. 

I will end with Lila's own words from here:

Let Me Help You Unshelve Your Collection This Year!

A short introduction to me and what I try to do here. I have worked for my library system for 18 years as of this year. My time here has taken me from a branch library to reference to circulation and then to acquisitions. I updated our website, was an administrator for our ILS, and created and ran reports. As far as programming is concerned, I have created and ran programs for infants through older people. 

Basically, except for administration, I have done it in a public library. 

Before libraries, I earned a masters degree in religious studies with a focus on Holocaust studies and antisemitism. For a time, I was a manager at Barnes and Noble, ran a comic book store, and worked for a brokerage firm. 

I serve as Volunteer Coordinator for the Horror Writers Association and review (primarily) horror for both Booklist and Library Journal. I love promoting the books I love on my social media accounts. Spending energy putting a light on what you love is a better use of time than dragging books that didn't work for you online. I also add photos of displays I love to help give you ideas!

Now, I work to help library workers learn how to use passive readers advisory to market their collections more effectively. A well designed book display can help shine a spotlight on those titles that haven't received love from your patrons recently. Focusing on the books rather than decorations or elaborate signage, borrowing book store techniques can help your patrons find their next great read. This will likely be a book that they hadn't had on their mind when they entered your building. 

I have presented for a variety of state and national organizations including webinars for PCI. These topics include:

*Book Display Basics for Every Library Worker

*Book Displays That Do More - Interactive Book Displays with Passive Programming 

*Engaging Patrons With Better Book Displays

*Inclusive Readers Advisory for Any Library Worker

*An Introduction to Passive Readers Advisory

*Love Is In the Air : Marketing Your Romance Collection Using Passive Readers Advisor

*Marketing Your Collection, Services, and Programs with Better Book Displays

*Not Just In October: Marketing Your Horror and Dark Literature Collection with Passive Readers Advisory

* Using Book Displays and More to Market Your Winter Holiday Collection 

If you are interested in having me teach your staff my techniques for using passive readers advisory, please reach out to me - Lila.Denning (at) gmail (dot) com. 

Notes from the Filed Featuring Lila Denning and #bookdisplay via Booklist's Corner Shelf

Today I am directing your attention to the latest "Notes from the Field" interview by my Booklist editor, Susan Maguire in the latest edition of her Corner Shelf Newsletter. As Susan explains below, she found my friend and Book Display expert Lila Denning on social media, and needed to find out more.

Click here to read their interview which is all about creating book displays. [Full disclosure, I am mentioned in the interview.] Denning is an expert at streamlining the book display process to make it less onerous on the library worker while still making sure her displays are original, interesting, diverse, inclusive, and attention grabbing.

I have reposted the introduction below with a link to keep reading. If you want to improve your book display game [which is all of you]-- both in making it easier to do well and improving what you offer on said displays-- read on.

 

Notes from the Field: Lila Denning and #bookdisplay. Maguire, Susan (author). FEATURE. First published November 1, 2019 (Booklist Online).

Even though I am Not a Millennial, I have somehow made space in my broken, cynical Gen X brain for the notion that, look, social media can be a really useful professional tool! This summer I chatted with Steve Ammidown of the Brown Popular Culture Library at Bowling Green State University, whom I tracked down because of their great Twitter account (@BGSU_PopCultLib). 

For this Notes from the Field, I found Lila Denning with a hashtag. I noticed that she would tweet pictures and retweet book lists and pop culture articles (as @vantine) with the hashtag #bookdisplay. And guess what? There were lots of great ideas for book displays there! Lila kindly allowed me to pick her brain on how she keeps her library’s book displays fresh.

Interview continues here 

I Am Presenting a Huddle at ALA Annual with Lila Denning on Better Book Displays

Next week, I will have a full post with my ALA schedule including my signing block of the Bram Stoker AwardⓇ winning WHY I LOVE HORROR at the S&S Booth on Saturday and the Library Insights Preconference Friday, but first, I wanted to let you know about my one presentation during ALA proper. It is a huddle with Lila Denning:

Connect Lounge Huddle: To facilitate discovery and circulation, how can libraries make their reading collection displays more engaging?

Sunday, June 28, 2026

11:00 AM - 11:20 AM CDT

Location: McCormick Place, ALA Connect Lounge, Hall F2 Lobby

The humble book display is often not used to its fullest as the discovery tool it can be. And we often forget how much it can drive increased circulation. But in a world where patrons use the library as both a physical and digital space, and with an understanding that patrons crave interactive experiences, discussion leaders Becky Spratford and Lila Denning will share their decades of experience as librarians and trainers to help huddle participants break down how to create displays that spark conversation, bring patrons of all ages into the library, and have them leave not only with a few good books to read but also a plan to return soon to get some more.

Moderated by Becky Spratford and Lila Denning

 Lila is an expert in passive RA and crafting book displays that help books fly off the shelves. Her secret-- not decorating them and just choosing good books. We are excited to invite anyone, those who serve all ages of readers, from any library type that has a popular reading collection (school, public, academic, even special) to join us as we share some expert tips and gather your ideas. 

I will be taking notes and will have a write up after ALA as well, so even if you cannot make it, I will get you the key information.

As Lila and I have been preparing for the huddle, she posted the slides for a short presentation on 5 Book Display Basics. We are going to use this as our starting point since we only have 20 minutes. (Although, her and I are willing to move the conversation somewhere else to keep it going if needed.)

Again, you now have this information via this post or her blog. Along with the notes I will post and the general reports I will write up from ALA in general, I am committed to making sure that those of you who cannot come to Chicago next week still get as much learning from me out of the event as possible.

September Book Display Ideas via Passively Recommending Books with Lila Denning Plus How to Flex Your Staff's Strength

Lila Denning runs the Blog Passively Recommending Books where she helps you with book display ideas. You can click here for the other times I have sent you to learn from her.

Her ideas are meant to kick start your own creativity with what you display. What I also love about her display ideas is that they are about the books you put out, how you curate better and NOT about the decorations or ephemera. Like me she thinks there should be none. The books are what matter and if you can get them out more quickly, you will have the energy to do more displays, which means more books will go out.

Every month, just a bit before a new month, she has a post on ideas for the next month. Here on my blog, I have been trying to start a new month by reminding you of her ideas. 

As we close out August, here are Denning's ideas to help you plan some displays for September.

But her blog is more than a once a month pit stop. You should check out her blog regularly. I have added it to my "Sites Worth Checking Out" list on the side bar.

For example, in between the August and September ideas post, she had this post which is very close to my RA for All heart: "Everyone in Your Library is an Expert in Something." From the post:

While you are planning out your library's book displays and lists, don't limit input to certain staff members. Allow anyone who works in your library to contribute to coming up with ideas and selecting titles. There could be things percolating in parts of popular culture that you are not familiar with or have not even heard of. Meanwhile, someone on your facilities team or in your business office may have done a deep dive into that thing and could help you assemble something for your patrons. 

Allowing anyone to contribute an idea or theme for a display or list will also expand the parts of your collection that receive attention while also encouraging staff to share their passions. It can be helpful to know what your co-workers are interested in as you work with the public. This is something that we did when I worked for a bookstore. We knew who was the historical romance readers, who loved poetry, and who was fluent in all kinds of space operas. When a customer asked for help with one of those areas, if that staff member was working, they would jump in to share their passion. 

As you schedule your book displays and lists, include room for a rotating staff display. The name of the staff member doesn't need to be part of their display; you are leveraging their expertise to market your collection. Make certain that you spread out the opportunity equally among different departments and give anyone interested a chance to assemble one. Have guidelines available so that the displays meet the same requirements as any one of your displays as far as avoiding bestsellers and being diverse and inclusive. 

Finally, if someone isn't comfortable or doesn't want to contribute, don't require it. There are plenty of other ways for a staff member to contribute to the success of your library.  

I have long been a proponent of getting all staff-- no matter their place on the organizational chart-- involved with your service to readers. Asking people for display ideas. Here is time on time earlier this year when I used a conversation starter question via Reactor magazine to get staff to contribute to a small display.

I will be reminding you once a month (at least) about Denning's book discussion posts. I love how she takes an old standby-- displays-- and injects new life into it. People are always going to gravitate to a smaller collections of titles over the large mass that is the stacks. We need to remember to use the power of the book display to highlight all of the items people would not find without our help. And also, asking for help from other staff members is not a weakness, it is flexing out staff's strength. 

Side note about Denning, she has been ramping up her formal training for library workers on how to create better book displays and has been replacing Robin Bradford (by Robin's choice and with her recommendation) on some Collection Development webinars as Denning works in collections for a FL library. Look for her offerings through PCI, ALA, and more.

 As a result of those programs, Lila has gathered a list of questions and concerns people have about upping their display game and she is planning a series of posts to answer those "how to" questions. I will cross post here in the coming weeks. For example, here is a recent: "Book Display Basics-- Scheduling."

Side note about Denning, she has been ramping up her formal training for library workers on how to create better book displays and has been replacing Robin Bradford (by Robin's choice and with her recommendation) on some Collection Development webinars as Denning works in collections for a FL library. Look for her offerings through PCI, ALA, and more.

Reading Resolutions Guest Post: Lila Denning

When I posted my Reading Resolutions last week, I also asked for any of you out their to share yours. Today and tomorrow I will be featuring two librarians who heeded the call.

First up is Lila Denning. Denning is the Acquisitions Coordinator for the St. Petersburg Library System in St Petersburg, FL, which includes collection development, collection maintenance, and cataloging.  Her library experience includes circulation, reference, youth services, outreach, and programming. Lila also worked for both Barnes and Noble and Borders. She is currently a member of the RUSA CODES Research and Trends Committee.

Denning is an expert on displays in libraries. She has presented on the topic at conferences and Tweets about it regularly. 

Denning also mentions a live training I will be doing in FL next month. I you can join us, the link is below.

Thank you Denning for sharing your resolutions with all of us.

Reading Resolutions : Passive Readers Advisory Edition 

by Lila Denning

In the spirit of the resolutions already posted by Becky, I thought I would offer some related to book displays and other forms of passive readers advisory. I have been thinking more about the importance of passive readers advisory as I prepare to participate in the Horror Writers of America’s Librarians Day in May. Horror is a genre that will circulate if put in front of your patrons. There are things about book displays and passive RA in general that should be kept in mind as we start 2020.

While it may feel differently on a busy day, we don’t talk to most of the people who come into our buildings. The only chance we may have to help them find the right item for that moment is through passive forms of readers advisory.  Signage, book displays, bookmarks, and digital lists can be used to showcase your collection or highlight materials by theme, genre, author, or subject matter. 

For more information on readers advisory, I would suggest Florida library workers attend the Readers Advisory for All face-to-face training session hosted by TBLC at the Bruton Memorial Library in February, 2020.

2020 Resolution: Stop apologizing for not making book displays that are fancy. My book displays generally have a sign with the theme or subject of the display and piles of materials. I don’t dress them up with accessories or make themed bulletin boards to accompany them. They are more utilitarian usually only decorated with bookmarks about library databases and programs. I don’t plan them out to make a splash on social media (although I do post images of them). That is because I use them for readers advisory and to market the collection. It’s the library materials that are the focus and making the display as inviting as possible for patrons to look at items and check them out.  Displays for enclosed glass cases or in school libraries serve a different purpose. The displays that I create and encourage are to help people find something that they did not expect. You may not have time to dress up a display but gathering a selection of materials and making a simple sign in Word is achievable.

2020 Resolution: Always remember to consider EDI in all displays.
I put up displays for various months and memorial days but every display of materials should include titles by a variety of authors who represent the depth and breadth of both our communities and the greater world. Books by authors of colors and own voices titles should be included throughout the year. When you are developing lists of books for flyers, bookmarks, or digital lists, double check them to make certain that you have been inclusive. Gathering titles for a display with EDI in mind is another way of spot-checking your collection. If you are putting up a winter romance display and have no books by diverse authors, that is something that needs to be brought to the attention of your collection development team.

2020 Resolution: Blending genres and item types is here to stay. Focusing on one subgenre should be part of passive readers advisory. I did a display on folk horror after Midsommar received a lot of attention. I have created lists of police procedurals and romances with shapeshifters. In general, however, I try to mix it up so a display about historical fiction will also include romance, horror, and mysteries. A list of books about prohibition will include fiction and DVD options. When it comes to genres like horror – mix those titles in with psychological suspense and thrillers. There are a lot of books that will appeal to people who say they don’t read horror. One display I did was “Not So Home Sweet Home” which mixed horror titles about haunted houses with family dramas and suspense novels about bad marriages. Use displays to help people find books they could love but would pass over. Don’t place limits where they don’t need to be, especially when it comes to displays. Put fiction displays in the non-fiction stacks and bring youth materials outside that department.

2020 Resolution: You can have fun with readers advisory. As anyone who has attended a Readers Advisory for All training session can attest, readers advisory is fun. It’s a joy to help people find the book, movie, or music they need. You often receive immediate, positive feedback. This is especially true when they didn’t know they were looking for it. Have fun with displays! Have staff who are passionate about a topic or subgenre gather up materials put it on a display. Indulge in puns and bad jokes (November Rain display with books with guns and/or roses on the cover in a favorite here.) Promote celebration days like National Alien Abduction Day or National Toilet Day. Besides bringing levity to your library, they are often an easy way to group materials from all over your collection.  Use hashtags from social media, internet memes, or jokes from tv and movies to inspire you. 

2020 Resolution: Don’t limit yourself to matching themes with the calendar. I live fifteen minutes from the beach and can guarantee you that in the summer, people love to read suspense and horror while they sun themselves. Horror will circulate when it’s not October. One of the sessions at HWA’s Librarians Day will cover the Summer Scares Reading Program. If you can, attend the stand-alone Librarians Day on May 7, 2020, at the Naperville, Illinois, Public Library to get ideas from other librarians and authors on how you can promote horror in your library.

2020 Resolution: Archive your successful ideas. I keep my signs in a folder on my computer so I can reuse them. I used to be better about keeping a list of titles, grouped by theme, so that I could fill in a display quickly when needed. When I create a bookmark around a particular genre or subject, I save it to be quickly updated with new titles when needed. Don’t think that every month needs a never-before-seen idea. Be kind to your future self. It can also be put somewhere on your network where anyone on staff can find ideas. Personally, I am going to try to create an online archive of my displays on a blog so that I can easily share ideas when asked. 

These are five ideas to help you create better book displays in the upcoming year. You can find my latest displays on Twitter @vantine. 

Guest Post: Lila Denning on Matching Books with Their Besties

Today I have a guest post by my colleague and good friend, Lila Denning. She is my go-to person for all things passive RA related and my forever StokerCon roommate. But here is her actual bio:

Lila Denning is the Acquisitions Coordinator for the St. Petersburg Library System in St Petersburg, FL, which includes collection development, collection maintenance, and cataloging.  Her library experience includes circulation, reference, youth services, outreach, and programming.  She has presented on passive readers advisory at conferences and talks about it regularly on Twitter.

Recently, she was posting on Twitter about how she has embraced the concept of "book best friends," as a new tool in her work with readers. I asked her to expand upon the concept for the blog, and thankfully she did. 

Below is Lila's post explaining the concept of "book best friends" and how you can use it to match books with readers at your library.

If you have a concept, display idea, or RA based program you would like to share with others, I am currently considering guest posts for the end of the year. Reach out to me in any of the ways listed here.

And if you try out a "Book Best Friends" display, let Lila and I know as well.

 

Matching Books with Their Besties

by Lila Denning

Readers advisory is often described as helping readers find books “just like” one they loved. For example, if you have read and enjoyed Scandinavian noir mysteries, I have a list of others that I would recommend because they share a lot of the same sorts of characters, settings, tone, and plot points. These sort of book siblings are often used in lists and book displays because they are quick and easy to create and fill in. 

There is a straight line between some books. Working with the public in libraries has shown me that often what people want are what I would call "book best friends." Just like with long time best friends, reading one will bring the other to mind even if you can’t immediately articulate a clean list of reasons why. 

When I asked on Twitter what suggestions people had for book best friends, Sadie Hartman (Mother Horror) of Night Worms and Dark Hart Books responded with Mexican Gothic (Silvia Moreno-Garcia) and The Ancestor (Danielle Trussoni). She talked about them having a “similar reader’s vibe” she picked up on while reading them. That vibe or general feeling is what book best friends often share. In Mexican Gothic, the main character heads out to High Place, a house in the Mexican Countryside while The Ancestor takes its main character to a castle in Italy. This shift to a setting with secrets and a sense of foreboding makes them good candidates for book best friends.

Once a patron asked me to help them find a book that was like Water for Elephants. She didn’t want a circus story or book about the Great Depression. She didn’t even care about a love story. What she wanted was another book about a found family or family of choice which was at the center of her reading experience and enjoyment of Water for Elephants.

This interpretation of the story opened a variety of options for best friends. You could suggest a variety of books from Mary Ann Shaffer’s Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society with its book club or even Sarah Gailey’s American Hippo novellas which feature a group of loners and misfits. Give a patron a variety of options that work with what they are seeking and encourage them to take a few home; if they dislike the first one, they can have another option.

Characters themselves can jump out to you as people who would be friends in real life. Oliver from Chuck Wendig’s The Book of Accidents is a sensitive boy who relocates with his parents to a new place where weird things start happening. While I was reading The Hollow Kind by Andy Davidson, I immediately made a connection between that book’s Max and Oliver. I have even suggested [on Twitter] that they needed a buddy novel where they could go on an adventure together.

Returning to Scandinavian mysteries, when I read Shutter by Ramona Emerson, I was reminded of the great female detectives and investigators in Scandinavian mysteries. There wasn’t a clear line from Shutter to those mysteries, but I couldn’t shake the resemblance. The main character in Shutter, Rita Todacheene, is a Navajo forensic photographer and may seem worlds away from Swedish characters like Irene Huss from Helene Tursten’s novels or Kristina Ohlsson’s Frederika Bergman. Shutter also has supernatural and horror elements that are not present in either Tursten or Ohlsson’s books. However, I think these books qualify as best friends because of factors like main characters who share things like troubled pasts that they still wrestle with and messy, complicated family and personal lives. These books are as much about imperfect people trying to find a way to work together despite their personal issues as they areabout the crime at the center of the book. A patron who was focused on the puzzle or who-done-it might find all of these books frustrating but someone who loved complex characters and an analysis of a particular place, whether Sweden or New Mexico, could love all of these books.

When you read a book and one of these best friends comes to mind, make a note of it. It’s a great idea in general to keep some sort of reading log if you are interested in readers advisory so you don’t forget the things that come to mind while you are reading. Also, pay attention when other readers mention that a book or character reminds them of another. As you assemble enough, you can put together a display or online list.

For a passive program, encourage your patrons to post their own using a physical display or a post on social media. Library workers can learn about what appeals to readers by reviewing what books patrons think would be best friends. Some answers might be more obvious, but readers will surprise you.

You can start it off with a simple question such as: What books do you think are best friends? Post it online and have some staff answers, or just use mine above to get the conversation started. Put up a display entitled, Book Best Friends. Fill it with pairs of books. Ask readers to add their own either directly to the display, or have them write them down to post on a board or put in a box. You can gather those suggestions to add to the display, list, or social media conversation.

Then encourage other readers to check out both titles at once. It's a win-win all around. You provide a fun, interactive experience for readers, while staff learn a new way to make book suggestions. Bonus points for encouraging 2 checkouts where previously there might only be one.

Unshelve the Titles That Have Become Lost in the Stacks via Lila Denning's Blog

I am on deadline for my Library Journal October column today. I will easily get it done, but I need every brain cell, so today I am calling in backup...kind of. Lila Denning's Passively Recommending Books blog is a great resource for no nonsense display information.

In a post from a few weeks ago, she alludes to an exchange that happened during the ALA Annual panel we were on for Booklist. There was a person in the audience who took offense to my saying that authors like Stephen King, Nora Roberts, and James Patterson should NOT ever be pulled out for display because they don't need the help to circulate. Instead, our focus should always be on the books people would not find without our help. You can read a much longer post on this by me here.

While Lila was one of the panelists who answered her in person, she also wrote this post after we returned. While it does not refer to the person directly, it does expound upon the points we were all trying to make in that ALA presentation.

Take it away Lila. And while you are reading her post, click through to see how else her blog-- Passively Recommending Books-- can help you help your patrons better. 

Unshelve the Titles That Have Become Lost in the Stacks

by Lila Denning 

 When librarians involved in readers advisory trainings advise library workers to avoid putting bestsellers on a display, there is often a lot of pushback. No one is suggesting that you not buy the most popular authors or those breakout hit titles. What is being suggested is since book displays are a form of marketing for your collection, it makes no sense to waste that space and effort on the titles with long wait lists and a solid fan base. If you have a long list for Rebecca Yarros, you don't need to promote her books. (Other than using them as a source for "read this while you wait for ..." displays.)

Remember that what needs attention at one library will be different at another. There can be genres, authors, and titles that fly off the shelf at one library but languish at another. I can't tell you which titles need attention at your library but whomever runs reports for you can do that. Because it is your collection and your library, you will need to adapt whatever collection marketing ideas to your library. 

Rather than worry about creating something super creative with a snappy sign, start with some reports that list titles which haven't circulated in awhile. Look at what new releases haven't found their reader yet. Make a sign that says NEW! or FICTION! or CHECK US OUT! and put up your display. What gets books checked out is the face out and the creation of a smaller collection on the display.l Someone on staff may find a book they love on that display and can hand sell it to a patron who needs a great read. By investing some attention in in those titles, you will have given them another chance before they are deselected. 

I also suggest that libraries invest in easels for their shelves. At the end of your shelves, put one title on an easel. Titles faced out like that will get attention and will likely find their reader. It's a low effort way to promote your collection that everyone in your library can fill them in when they pass an empty easel. It's not a huge investment but will have a great payoff as far as getting titles in the hands of reader

Click through to read more on Passively Recommending Books. 

August Book Display Ideas via Passively Recommending Books with Lila Denning

Lila Denning runs the Blog Passively Recommending Books where she helps you with book display ideas. You can click here for the other times I have sent you to learn from her.

Her ideas are meant to kick start your own creativity with what you display. What I also love about her display ideas is that they are about the books you put out, how you curate better and NOT about the decorations or ephemera. Like me she thinks there should be none. The books are what matter and if you can get them out more quickly, you will have the energy to do more displays, which means more books will go out.

Every month, just a bit before a new month, she has a post on ideas for the next month. Here on my blog, I have been trying to start a new month by reminding you of her ideas. Last month I had this post with her July ideas.

Today is August 1, so here are Denning's ideas to help you plan some fun displays.

But her blog is more than once a month. One of my favorite reoccurring posts she does is Book Display Inspiration Using One Book. Here is a recent one for Kristin Hannah's The Women. This is a great example using popular books to promote all of the other great books that you have on the shelf waiting for them to enjoy, if only they knew they were there.

Side note about Denning, she has been ramping up her formal training for library workers on how to create better book displays and has been replacing Robin Bradford (by Robin's choice and with her recommendation) on some Collection Development webinars as Denning works in collections for a FL library. Look for her offerings through PCI, ALA, and more.

As a result of those programs, Lila has gathered a list of questions and concerns people have about upping their display game and she is planning a series of posts to answer those "how to" questions. I will cross post here in the coming weeks.

But do check out her blog regularly. I have added it to my "Sites Worth Checking Out" list on the side bar.

Five Book Friday via Lila Denning

It's Friday and I have a guest post idea from Lila Denning entitled "Five Book Friday." 

Click here to access the post and her excellent Book Display focused blog (for even more ideas) or read below.

Book Display Idea - Five Book Friday!

by Lila Denning

Reoccurring social media posts can be a reason for people to revist your social media pages even when the posts don't show up in their feed. A fun way to involve all staff, regardless of position, in readers advisory and marketing your backlist is what I call Five Book Friday. Everyone who works in your library system can find materials about a theme they love including books and audio-video materials. The idea can even work with your eBook collection. 

Announce the program and seek input from staff. With a calendar you can assign weeks and have part of your social media promotion set for the year. Allowing everyone to participate will add topics and titles that would otherwise be buried in the stacks to get a spotlight shined on them. Someone in your business office may love historical fiction. A member of your facilities team could love French cooking. A preschool storytime star may be an expert in space opera. Not only will this provide social media posts but it will encourage team building as staff learn about each other. 

Some examples? 

Heavy Metal - 

We Sold Our Souls - Grady Hendrix
Slash (autobiography)- Slash
Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga - Stephen Davis
Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal - Joe Wiederhorn and Katherine Turman
Fargo Rock City - Chuck Klosterman
or add two music CDs 

Witchy Fiction - 

Boneset and Feathers - Gwendolyn Kiste
Island Witch - Amanda Jayatissa
Hex - Thomas Olde Heuvelt
The Once and Future Witches - Alix E. Harrow 
The Year of the Witching -Alexis Henderson

Salads -

Salad Samurai - Terry Hope Romero
Salad Freak - Jess Damuck
Saladish: A Crunchier, Grainier, Herbier, Heartier, Tastier Way with Vegetables - Ilene Rosen
Seriously Good Salads: Creative Flavor Combinations for Nutritious, Satisfying Meals - Nicky Corbishley 
The Complete Salad Cookbook: A Fresh Guide to 200+ Vibrant Dishes Using Greens, Vegetables, Grains, Proteins, and More - America's Test Kitchen

The books can be in someone's hands or on a desk. The layout of the photos are up to you and how comfortable staff are with being on your library's social media page. Spread out the topics and make a mix between fiction and non-fiction. You can do all movie posts if that's an interest someone has. Use your physical and digital audiobooks as well. A staff picks carousel can be added to your eBook collection. 

Thanks Lila! For more book display and passive RA ideas, click here.

Unshelve Your Collection in 2025: A Guest Post by Lila Denning

One of my regular guest posters is Lila Denning, an expert presenter on library book displays. In early January she proclaimed 2025 the year we "unshelve our collections" on her Passively Recommending Books Blog.

From that post:

While we all re-evaluate what will be different in 2025, I want to encourage you to unshelve your collection more this year. I've chosen that well-used library phrase to describe taking books out of the stacks and moving them around your building to show off what treasures are in your stacks. 

You can keep reading that post here.

While Denning plans to post on this topic all year (you can pull up all if her "unshelve" posts here), after I read it, I asked her to expand upon this introduction for my readers. The simplicity of the idea and the fun word play makes this an easy to promote strategy.

And so, here is Unshelve Your Collections by Lila Denning.

Shelves and shelves of book spines can create a great picture but it's not always the best way for a patron who is browsing your stacks to find their next great read. That's why this year I am encouraging everyone to unshelve their collections. All this means to find as many ways as possible to get your collection away from being lost in your stacks and out where it can be discovered by someone. 

There are simple ways to accomplish this. The easiest is to purchase some easels and put one book face out on every shelf. You will be amazed at what will be checked out simply because you put it face out on a shelf. This also is easy for any library worker to help keep filled; all that has to be done is pick a book from that shelf and place it on an empty easel. There is a sort of serendipity to this as everyone in your building will likely pick a different book so what’s faced out will constantly change. 

Book displays are another way to unshelve your collection by curating a small collection of materials on a theme and grouping them together. I cover basics and try to provide ideas on my blog and in my presentations for library workers. The magic behind book displays is that when the covers are faced out, they will always catch someone’s eye. Mix up fiction and non-fiction. Move materials to a part of your building that is far from where the rest of the collection is located. Add audiovisual materials to a display with books. Keep the signage and decorations simple. The focus should be on the covers.

Your eBooks and eAudiobooks are a treasure that not everyone in your community knows about. You can unshelve them by setting up a book display with covers from the titles included in your digital collection. Add QR codes to the website and information about how to sign up for the service. You can mix the face outs on your shelves by adding signage on some shelves with suggestions for titles in your eBook collection. 

Whatever social media accounts your library uses can also help you unshelve your collection. One idea I have suggested is a “Five for Friday” series. Just pick five titles on a theme and take a picture. You can put them on a cart, table, or have a staff member hold them. A schedule can be set up and anyone who works in your library can have a chance to pick a theme and their five items. Add a short paragraph explaining the titles and provide information about how to put them on request. If staff are comfortable, you can have a short video where the staff member explains their choices. 

If a topic pops up in the news, use that as a reason to add a post with some titles that might be of interest to someone who wants more information. Find a theme similar to what you would use for a book display and create a grouping of covers for your social media. If someone has the interest and skills, you can create clever graphic or just use a series of book cover images. 

Don’t limit your unshelving efforts to your building. Partner with local businesses and get small posters and fliers out into your community that include titles and covers from your collection. You can use local celebrations and events for inspiration. Create bookmarks with covers that can be given away. Make some themed posters and book marks with coffee related titles for a cafe or pizza related titles for a pizza shop. There are pet speciality stores that are popping up. There are many pet related titles in our collections. Remind the people in your community who don’t regularly come into your building how amazing your library is. 

These are but a few examples of unshelving your collections to get you started thinking about the concept. For the rest of 2025 I am going to try to discuss many ways of unshelving your collection that can be used by libraries regardless of size or budget. Reach out to me if you have ideas that your library has used to show off the titles in your collection. I would love to share them! Let’s use this year to help readers discover what treasures are waiting for them on our shelves. 

Click here to join Lila in her "Unshelve Your Collections" year of posts. Let her help you get your ideas to get started and then reach out to her (as she mentions above) if you have idea that worked for you so she can share them with others. 

Inclusion as the Norm: The Power of Diverse Book Displays via Lila Denning in RUSQ

Today I am sharing a post from Lila Denning's blog, Passively Recommending Books. Her article in RUSQ, a journal of Reference and User Experience is now live.

In her article, Denning talks frankly about why making all of your book displays as inclusive as possible is  not just about doing the right thing, it is literally your job to showcase as much of the collection as possible. She explains it in language that makes sense from every angle. You can argue this from an antiracist standpoint and an economic standpoint (getting the most checkouts of the most books which you have used taxpayer money on). And more.

And for those who are still making excuses that they cannot do this, a reminder,  Denning works in Florida and has put everything she talks about into action. So, if she can do it, what's your excuse.

(I have answers to that question but they are not kind to those of you who aren't doing this work yet, so I will leave them off this post.)

Click on this link or read below to access her blog post with access to the article. This is the argument you need to make your displays as inclusive as possible every single time (not just during heritage months).

RUSQ: A Journal of Reference and User Experience - Inclusion as the Norm: The Power of Diverse Book Displays

I was fortunate to have an article published in RUSQ. The Reference and User Services Association of ALA relaunched its journal in 2024. It's purpose is "... to disseminate information of interest to reference librarians, information specialists, and other professionals involved in user-oriented library services." In Vol 61, No 2 (2026) Winter Issue you can find my article "Inclusion as the Norm: The Power of Diverse Book Displays."

A pdf of the article is available online. 

I will quote from one paragraph here: 

" It centers a white, straight, Christian perspective as what is in “normal” books while making diverse books more of a niche interest, to be read by members of those communities and on special months. These books are not interesting or valuable because their authors and characters are diverse.  They need to be added to the displays, lists, and suggestions that are made to readers interested in a particular genre or topic. Moving who is centered in the culture of reading that is created in a library, allowing those who are marginalized to take center stage, even if a sign does not declare their identity, is actively promoting a culture of anti-racism. This active promotion does not require signage identifying the author’s characteristics to be actively anti-racist. These books are books that should be treated as titles to be potentially enjoyed by any reader. Deliberately developing a regular practice of adding diverse titles to all displays and lists both increase staff knowledge of those titles, creating more opportunities for them to be included in staff recommendations."

You can click here to head over to Denning's blog on your own or click on this link to access her article directly. 

Unshelve Your Collection Using Celebrity Picks via Passively Recommending Books (Lila Denning)

Over on Lila Denning's blog she had a great post about Using Celebrity Picks to help you "unshelve" your Collection-- get the books out of the stacks and into the hands of readers.

I have the full text of the post below, but I want to add a few more tips to her great suggestions. First, this idea of using Celebrity Picks for displays online and in your buildings is great, but I want to challenge you to not make the display specific. Rather, I am encouraging you to find a space for an ongoing display in your buildings that is always for all Celebrity Picks, from as wide a range of celebrities as you can image, lumped all together.Think about it.

This is a display you can have up at all times and it is super easy to fill. And, the more inclusive you are of the "celebrity," the more inclusive your choices will be, the more readers who will be drawn to your display.

Now I know library workers and many of you are not happy with this. You think you HAVE to do smaller displays or online lists separated by celebrity who is recommending.

Well you are wrong.

And in fact, it is that kind of attitude which hurts all of us trying to be more inclusive and do less gate keeping. You want the books to be unshelved, to leave the library, to not linger on the shelf. ALL OF THEM. And if you don't want a book to be checked out, weed it. 

If you only do books mentioned by a specific celebrity on a display or list, you only appeal to their fans, but when that celebrity's books are mixed together with lots of others, when all you tell your patrons is that someone "celebrity" pick these books, you invite MORE people to check out the display. And I promise you, someone who came for that Taylor Swift book is going to leave with a book recommended by someone else without know it. 

You can also add a QR code to the in person display (or a link on your online displays and lists) that leads to the list of resources you used to build it the display. I suggest having that list in a Google Doc or similar, something where when you update it, the list updates. This way you have a long list of celebrity picks lists and resources always available to you (to add to the display) and for your patrons who want something specific or need even more choices. 

And level this all up by turning it into a "conversation starter to display" moment as well. Ask your patrons what celebrities they would like read recs from and/or what lists do they want to share. Help them help you to keep this display going. Click here for my conversation starter to display instructions.

This is one you might never need to take down if you do it correctly (aka my way).

Here's Lila's post to get you started.

Unshelve Your Collection - Using Celebrity Picks

One constant is that readers enjoy celebrity reading picks. We can see this every time someone like Taylor Swift is seen with a book under her arm. I have had great success with celebrity reading focused book displays. Bill Gates and President Obama are two people who come out with annual lists. When Gates recommended a book on the history of shipping containers I put it on a displays and it was checked out the first day.

You can find lists by searching for [celebrity name] reading list , favorite books, or reading recommendations. For a different take on this idea, you can create a display inspired by a particular album, artist, movie, or song. Use the title "Reading with [celebrity name] and put up those books along with titles you have that feature that actor, musician, or author. 

Billy Porter Shares His 6 Favorite Reads — Including This Viral Self-Help Book (People)

Radical Reads: Celebrity Book Recommendations

Celeb Book Recs (Instagram)

celebrities with great reading lists? (Reddit)

20 Great Celebrity Book Recommendations (Book Riot)

Amazon Book Review - Celebrity Picks

Listopia > books taylor swift has mentioned (Goodreads)

What books do we know Taylor has read and liked? (Reddit)

Bad Bunny Reading List (from a library)

 Listopia > Beyoncé Cowboy Carter Reading List (Goodreads)

Pedro Pascal's Favorite Books Just Proves This Man Has Impeccable Taste (Esquire)

12 Celebrity Book Recommendations (from a library)

Celebrities Who Read Diversely and The Books They Recommend

The Shameless Book Club: Jacob Elordi 

Pop Star Picks: Books, TV & Films Recommended By Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Zendaya & More

Book Recommendations from Celebrities (Instagram)

Click here for more from Lila Denning's Blog, Passively Recommending Books. 

Promote Horror All Year Long a Guest Post by Lila Denning

I wanted to remind you AFTER October Horror is still worth promoting. As reported in Publisher's Lunch in January 2023, Horror is up 79% in sales as its own category over the previous 2 years. 

While we see an increase in seasonal readers in the Fall, there is a steady amount of all year long Horror readers, and that number is growing.

I asked my colleague Lila Denning, a national expert on Book Discussions, and part of the HWA's Library Team, to share how she highlights Horror all year long.

Even if she does not convince you, at the very least, leave those displays up for another week as people trickery in who meant to read a Horror title this fall but forgot. They will be relieved that you are sill thinking of them.

Thank you to Lila for helping out here. To read other guest posts by her, click here. And now, Lila Denning:

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It’s the day after Halloween and you may be tempted to set aside the horror titles in your collection until next October. You may be sad that spooky season is over as we head into the winter holidays. But remember that it’s always spooky season because horror circulates all year and given the current rise in popularity, it is part of good patron service to include it in your passive and active readers advisory outside of Halloween season. By expanding how you think about genre and blending similar themes, you can continue to market horror to your patrons throughout the year.

Winter is dark, silent, cold and kind of scary. Look for those horror novels that take place in the winter and the snow. Lists like this one on Goodreads can guide a search of your library’s collection. There is also at least one winter or winter holiday themed short story collection released every year. Some readers may appreciate a small break from the push of joy and family visits to dive into something scary.

A theme like “Not Such a Happy Home” could include domestic thrillers, psychological suspense, haunted houses, and dysfunctional families. This would allow you to blend mysteries, suspense, and horror on one book display or online list. There are plenty of books with broad appeal that could be included. Using generic terms like murder for the title of the list or display, is another way to expand beyond one genre.

Witches cross genres – add paranormal romance, historical fiction, and horror. There are also creatures like shifters that appear in more than one genre. Add a sign that says “Shift Into Summer” and you can help circulate those titles in that time in between spring and summer. Of course, human monsters like serial killers appear in a variety of books, movies, and TV series.

When movie or series gains popularity during the year (studios don’t save all their horror features for October), remember to put up a display or list with read-alikes for that title. Bird Box was released in December 2018 and was a huge success. Netflix released Wednesday in November. That series could be used to promote your backlist YA titles in addition to adult books. Harness the energy of things with momentum in popular culture to draw attention to your backlist horror.

Springtime is the season for baby birds, melting snow and…folk horror. The movie Midsommer demonstrated that people will flock to stories set in rural places about folk religions, paganism, and witches.

Don’t forget about scary beach reads. Not everyone wants light, humorous books while they are on vacation. I have book displays with horror empty out in the summer as patrons take them down the road to the beach to enjoy as they sit in the bright sun. One of the more iconic summer creature films is Jaws. Recently there have been some great beach/ocean/shoreline related horror released that could jump start a summer display – What Kind of Mother by Clay McLeod Chapman and Whalefall by Daniel Kraus. Additional evidence for the allure of scary books in the summer is the number of big mystery and suspense titles that are released every summer.

Speaking of summer, don’t neglect horror on your YA and youth summer reading suggestion list. There are a lot of great middle grade and YA horror titles available. Seeing their favorite kind of books promoted in the library could be just what a child needs to draw them back into reading and the library. The Bram Stoker Award nominees are an excellent place to start.

There are also juvenile fiction titles and picture books that can be suggested to help younger fans keep reading while school is out. The Horror Writers Association (HWA), in partnership with United for Libraries, Book Riot, and Booklist present Summer Scares every year. Three adult, YA, and middle grade titles are selected and can be worked into book clubs and displays. The most up-to-date resource page is here. Use these titles and the annual programming guide to make next summer a spooky one.

Hopefully, these ideas will give you a jumpstart on adding horror to your displays and lists all year. While Halloween is a wonderful celebration of the dark and spooky, horror can easily be worked into readers advisory year-round. If you are one of the library workers who loves horror, take it forward into every month.