Curating an eye-catching, memorable display of books requires time, expertise, and creativity. For Colleen Kingsbury, one of our Teen Librarians at Plymouth District Library, crafting displays is one of her favorite parts of the job – and the task requires a lot more than just picking new bestsellers to add to the shelves.
“Our main display space is updated on a monthly basis,” she shared, speaking of the Teen Display adjacent to the Teen Lounge. “The smaller, double-sided display unit is also typically updated on a monthly schedule, but I will sometimes swap out a display mid-month.” An example of a mid-month swap out would be replacing a New Year’s resolutions display mid-January, as the content tends to get outdated faster than other themes or topics might.
When it comes to planning, Colleen prepares one month at a time. “I always start by selecting three or more topics for the month. Then, I get a list of ideas based on what ‘holidays’ are happening in any given month; think anything from celebrity birthdays to silly days like ‘Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day’.” There are also popular cultural moments recognized on displays, like the premiere of Wicked: For Good this past November, as well as serious days of remembrance and celebration like AAPI Heritage Month or Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Colleen also has a list of general ideas applicable to any time of year. These might include highlighting popular book tropes (say, fake dating) or diversity (e.g., books containing autistic main characters), or books that share similar visual elements on their covers. “It’s endless, which is part of the fun!” She added, “With that being said, topics for the main display space have to be pretty broad, because it takes at least 45 books to fill the space, and a vast majority of displays end up with about 60.”
Colleen’s favorite displays to put together are the smaller ones in her department, because she can zone in on specialized subjects. Every other month, display topics are selected by the Board of Library Teens (BLT), a volunteer group collaboratively run by Colleen and Sean Glasgow, another PDL Teen Librarian. BLT is made up of teen patrons and provides Colleen and Sean with feedback on the library’s teen services. When BLT meets, Colleen narrows down a list of potential topics for the volunteers to choose from. Last November, some options presented were Native American Heritage Month, Wicked (with a pink and green spread), Nonfiction November, Disney (to celebrate Mickey Mouse’s birthday), cooking, and World Science Day. Ultimately, the teens chose Wicked for the mini shelves, and Nonfiction November became the large display.
When it comes to picking the books themselves, Colleen makes a list from the library’s catalog that aligns with her chosen topic. For larger displays, Colleen’s lists contain 100 or more items, versus a smaller display, which would have a minimum of nine books. “I would probably stop searching for more titles once I accumulate around 30,” she said, “If possible, I will always try to pull books from as many teen collections as I can – this really just depends on the topic.” She explained that a romance display isn’t likely to pull any nonfiction titles, and a pollution prevention display will probably contain exclusively nonfiction books. On the other hand, a Halloween display may pull from a variety of genres, like fiction, nonfiction, manga, and graphic novels.
“About a day before I physically put up a large display, I will comb through my list to create a pull of 65-70 books,” Colleen continued, “When making my final selections of what to include, the most important factor is if the book is currently available, followed by considerations of aesthetics, mixing collections, and representing as many cultures and forms of diversity as possible.” She added that it’s important that displays include items that haven’t been previously displayed to avoid repetition.
On display day, Colleen usually devotes a full shift to work on the project. “My goal is to change out displays on the first of the month,” She shared, “I design all my posters ahead of time, and then print them on the library’s poster printer.” She aims to balance the library’s branding with a youthful, playful vibe so that they catch the eyes of teenage patrons. After pulling the books, she marks the location of each title on display so that patrons accessing our online catalog can easily find what they’re looking for.
“I am very obsessive about visuals, so I am very intentional about placement,” Colleen explained. “There has to be a variety of sizes, colors, and book types. I always place extra books on the shelves of my large display, so that as books are checked out, other staff members can fill those ‘holes’ as needed.” She noted that oftentimes, her original pull will include more books than the space allotted, so after the display is done, she’ll add a small section to reshelve as she returns the previous month’s display to their usual shelves.
During the month a display is up, Colleen will perform what she calls “maintenance” on it, which includes keeping track of which books have been checked out and which need to be replaced as needed. “I don’t know of any other librarians who track their displays in the same way I do, but I just love data!” Her displays have been known to boost checkouts, especially with nonfiction items. “For example, when I did a video game display, I couldn’t keep books on the display because they were flying off the shelves.”
Next time you get the opportunity, swing by the library and take in one of Colleen’s teen displays – you just might find your next great read. You can also visit the recommendations tab on our website for lists curated by both PDL staff and our patrons.