Week 15 Prompt

            I believe that one of the most beneficial ways to market the fiction collection of the Georgetown library branch of the Allen County Public Library system is to create displays for the fiction collection. The act of using displays can function as passive advisory for the Georgetown library branch’s service for the public (Hilyard, 2010, p. 12). The books of the fiction collection should be revealed in designed displays in certain areas of the library. These areas should be strategically placed in order to attract the most attention and to be the most accessible to library patrons. The displays of books should also be located in areas that are relevant to the genre and audience of the books. For example, adult fantasy books should be placed in a makeshift display near the two library shelves in the adult section where adult fantasy books are placed in the library’s collection. Also, novels that influenced later titles in respect to one genre or multiple genres could be paired together. For example, The Vampyre by John William Polidori could be paired with Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight in a display; this pairing could be displayed to promote the books and to further educate the public on the origins of the literary idea of vampires in the horror, romance, and fantasy genres.

            Physical displays could also connect the library’s fictional and physical books in its collection with film adaptations of popular novels of fiction. The Georgetown library branch could especially focus on promoting film adaptations of young adult novels, since they are popular with children and teenagers. For example, the library could reveal DVDs of film adaptations of the Harry Potter novels or the Percy Jackson books in specific displays. Also, using a display with both paperback and electronic materials will show that the library provides more than one type of medium for its resources in its entire collection of fiction. The provision of a DVD and a book could additionally be used in a display for the comparison of the film adaptation of the book and the actual book that the film utilized. For example, the young adult novel, The Maze Runner, could be placed alongside a DVD of the novel’s film adaptation, The Maze Runner, in a display.

            The Georgetown library branch of the Allen County Public Library could also utilize online readers’ advisory to market the library’s collection of fictional works. Utilizing online readers’ advisory would be highly beneficial, since it “offers many advantages to library patrons” (Burke & Strothmann, 2015, p. 133). For instance, online readers’ advisory distinctly appeals “to patrons because of the privacy and convenience it affords” (Burke & Strothmann, 2015, p. 133). In addition, online readers’ advisory would be beneficial for library employees to utilize, since online readers’ advisory can “offer librarians an opportunity to provide better service” (Burke & Strothmann, 2015, p. 133). Also, online readers’ advisory can assist librarians that operate as advisors by allowing them “to consult with their colleagues and peruse appropriate tools without stress” (Burke & Strothmann, 2015, p. 133). So, utilizing online readers’ advisory for marketing the library’s fiction collection appears to be a suitable choice for the Georgetown library branch.

            Specifically, the Georgetown library branch could display the fiction collection of the Georgetown library branch on the Allen County Public Library’s website. The library branch’s fiction collection on the website could utilize online readers’ advisory in order to “promote the contents of a library’s collections, bringing attention to books that might otherwise go overlooked” (Burke & Strothmann, 2015, p. 133). The use of the Allen County Public Library’s website with the Georgetown library branch’s online display of its fiction collection would be beneficial, since it would alert library users “to the services, events, and resources that will be available to them when they visit” (Burke & Strothmann, 2015, p. 132). The presence of the website would also attract the attention of library patrons, since the patrons could learn of online readers’ advisory “if they visit a library website that highlights it” (Burke & Strothmann, 2015, p. 133). In addition, displaying the Georgetown library branch’s fiction collection on the Allen County Public Library’s website would function as part of online readers’ advisory, since it would assist library users in easily finding materials that are part of the library’s collection.

            Also, the Georgetown library branch could use online readers’ advisory by promoting specific fictional novels on certain social media websites. Social media websites are significant for the Georgetown library branch to use, since they incorporate the communication of “ideas, products, and services across the spectrum of industries and services” (Herther, 2013, p. 38). For instance, the Georgetown library branch could use the Goodreads website in order to form recommendations for a list of fictional books that are physically and electronically present at the library’s physical location. Using the Goodreads website would be beneficial, since the Goodreads website can be used to “connect users to one another based on common interests and create communities of readers online” (Burke & Strothmann, 2015, p. 134). In addition, the Goodreads website provides “avid readers with a forum for learning about hooks, connecting with authors, sharing reading tastes, and keeping track of their own reading and book ownership in a social setting” (Herther, 2013, p. 39). Furthermore, the Goodreads website utilizes recommendations, reader reviews, and discussion groups in order to “fuel the interest and ongoing commitment of members of this free service” (Herther, 2013, p. 39). Also, the Goodreads website is at least considered valuable to a certain degree with its “user data, reviews, successful software, and community” (Herther, 2013, p. 39). So, the library’s use of the Goodreads website is highly beneficial towards connecting ordinary library patrons with the resources of its collection of fictional titles.

            Also, the Georgetown library branch could utilize online tools as part of its online readers’ advisory. The Georgetown library branch could utilize Web 2.0 tools, such as “blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, and podcasts to promote books and communicate with patrons” (Burke & Strothmann, 2015, p. 133). Additionally, the Georgetown library branch could use the online tool of “LibraryThing to keep track of what other librarians are reading” and to create online lists of reading materials for library patrons (Hilyard, 2010, p. 11). These online readers’ advisory tools could be promoted and listed in the physical library system by having at least one computer with an evident web layout of an online readers’ advisory tool, such as NoveList for library patrons.

            In addition, the Georgetown library branch could employ the use of signs in order to promote its fiction collection. The use of signs at the library’s physical location could encourage the reading of books in the library’s collection of fictional titles (Saricks, 2005, p. 137). Also, the Georgetown library branch’s supply of “good, clear signage and an inviting and efficient physical arrangement are the first steps in creating an atmosphere conducive to readers’ advisory activities” (Saricks, 2005, p. 138). In addition, the act of library patrons looking at signs with a long list of reading options would likely result “in increased visibility and a more accessible readers’ advisory service” for the library (Saricks, 2005, p. 138). Librarians could also utilize social media websites, such as Pinterest, to gather ideas about how to design signs at the library’s physical location in order to attract the most attention from library patrons. In addition, the Georgetown library branch could utilize Pinterest to create online signs for certain books in its fiction collection (Burke & Strothmann, 2015, p. 133).

References:

Burke, S. K., & Strothmann, M. (2015). Adult Readers' Advisory Services through Public

Library Websites. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 55(2), 132-143. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.ulib.uits.iu.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=cdb71d90-35c8-44f0-822e-e04ad92ef75e@sessionmgr4008

Herther, N. K. (2013). Good reads. Online Searcher, 37(4), 38. Retrieved from

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.ulib.uits.iu.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&sid=562dbb8e-77e6-4c03-9cf3-dfd6cdea193c@sessionmgr101

Hilyard, N. B. (2010). The Expanding Scope of Readers' Advisory. Public Libraries, 49(1), 10-

25. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.ulib.uits.iu.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=78198b61-1447-4e49-bdb2-310ddc2da8a8@sessionmgr4010

Saricks, J. (2005). Promoting and marketing readers’ advisory collections and services [PDF

file]. In Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library. Chicago: ALA. 136-160.

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