So Much More Than a Bookstore

Our normal "book displays" consist of, two or three hanging in a plastic endcap thing near the new books, a locking glass upright case with a dozen or so, a couple wire spinners with 6-8, and a few faced out books above the magazine shelves. I especially don't like the upright case because it screams, "you are not allowed to touch these!" despite a tiny sign on the front telling people to go over the reference desk and ask if you want to borrow one.

As part of our Summer Reading Kickoff, I decided to make a special display. I moved one of the big reading tables to the open seating area right in front of the reference desk. There are normally four chairs with a few small end tables there but I pushed them to empty spots on the side. I stacked one end table on top of the big table and shoved another one underneath the big table on either side, sticking out a little to achieve a nesting table look.

The Summer Reading theme for adults is Groundbreaking Reads so I thought I'd pick categories like aviation, art, literature, civil rights, etc. and pick 6-7 people that were groundbreaking in those fields. I made stacks for each category and a biography (with a face on the cover) of one of the people to face out on the top of the stack. I'm hoping that people will recognize Amelia Earhart and that will lead them to lesser known people in the same category like Pancho Barnes.

These are the categories that I settled on:

Click to enlarge

Power & Influence: People Who Shaped America
My Story: Individual Life Experiences
Curiosity, Discovery, Innovation: Science & Technology
We Can Do It!: Accomplishments of Women/Feminism
Out of America: Life in a Foreign Country
Separate, not Equal: The African American Experience
From Earth to the Moon: Aviation & Space
Live, Laugh & Love : Arts & Entertainment
Against all Odds: Tough Situations
Changing Ideals: Cultural Revolutionaries
Storytellers: Author Biographies
Changing the Game: Sports & Fitness
Withstanding the Test of Time: Classic Literature
Fantasy or Future Reality?: SciFi Classics

Also I made tiny laminated signs for each stack on the table (not pictured). Although it was my vision, I had help from a library assistant. Once it was all set up, a co-worker (MLS) was admiring it and said, "I almost hate to say it, but it looks like something in a bookstore," in a hushed tone. I was confused because that's what I was going for. I worked in retail for a long time and learned a few things about getting people to take home things they aren't shopping for. I asked her if it was a bad thing and the response I received made me feel like she thought libraries shouldn't compete with bookstores.

I, on the other hand, absolutely think we should compete with bookstores. We're trying to give everything away for free basically (not counting the tax money people already paid) and bookstores, who have fewer services, are still out there making profits that most libraries couldn't dream of making. Why can bookstores get people to readily pay them for things that we can't get people to take for free? Obviously, there's a lot more to it but I don't like the attitude that libraries are somehow inferior and shouldn't even be compared to for profit retail.

Non-profit doesn't mean that we can't make money, it just means that we have to put all of the money back into the organization. If they can get someone to pay $15 for one book then that $15 goes to the shareholders. Why shouldn't we try to get someone to donate that same $15 for thousands of books and have that money to improving the organization?

 Well that escalated quickly. I really was going to just write about my display, and not get all philosophical. I'm starting to think that's not possible. I guess I'm always looking at the bigger picture.