RA Tip: Finding Time to Read!

Have seen similar lists before although a few words to the wise on ways to encourage reading are always welcome reminders! Check out this post from Mashable with 11 tips and tricks to make yourself read more.

I practice numbers 1 (usually more than one), 2 (most of the time), 4 (this can be hard, though make myself do it), 5 (whenever/wherever happen to be waiting in line), 7 (sometimes), 8 (one of my favorite pastimes), and 10 (my family knows to leave me be when am ensconced in my rocking chair with a book). :-)

Need to work on 3 (used to do this but fell out of the habit), 6 (have plans to combine this with my audiobook listening), 9 (does listening to one and reading another count?) and while I'm not a whiskey drinker, I must find the wherewithal to follow number 11!

Give some (if not all) of the tips and tricks a try, you just might like it! :-)

RA Tips from Staff: Create Displays Using Monthly Themes

Displays are a great way to promote the collection, especially the back list. 

Do you create displays for your library? Always on the look-out for new ideas or themes to use with a display? An easy way to find ideas for display themes is to check for holidays or events being celebrated each month.

Try picking a theme tied to the current month and create a display. Pull some older titles from your shelves along with a few new titles and be sure to include multiple formats (Audiobooks, Music, DVDs/Blu-rays, even highlight titles available in eMedia) and reading levels (Adult, YA/Teen, Children's) so there is something for everyone.

There are plenty of themes to work with in May. Saturday, May 2nd is Free Comic Book Day and staff may be hearing the catch phrase "May the 4th be with you!" from eager movie fans on Monday, May 4th: Star Wars Day.

You probably know about Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) but did you know that at Booklist Online 'May is Mystery Month'? Why not create a display with all kinds of mysteries?

Were you aware that May 7th will be the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Lusitania? You could include titles on ships, naval disasters or expand it with a World War I theme. 

Did you know that International Nurses Day is May 12th, the birthday of Florence Nightingale? May 10th is of course, Mother's Day but did you know that May 15th is the International Day of Families? 

The month of May is also National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, National Military Appreciation Month as well as the month in which Memorial Day is celebrated, on May 25th in 2015. 

Any of these would be a great theme to use for a display and there are plenty of others you could tap into throughout the year! 

Does your library own a copy of Chase's Calendar of Events but you don't always have access to it? Could you use some online tools which may help by providing similar types of information? Here are a few I've found which may be useful:

Consider famous daily, a website that tells you "what makes today special." You can enter a month and day to see what makes that specific date special or you could subscribe and have an email delivered to you each morning with birthdays, historical events, holidays, and a famous quote for the day.

Or you could check out HistoryOrb.com,founded in 2000 which has over 200,000 entries with extensive 'Today in History' archives. The Search box allows users to hunt by person, event, place, or date. The site provides searching by Famous Birthdays, Weddings, Famous Deaths, Famous People, as well as by date, day, country, or year.

Another site is History.com's This Day in History which reflects the current date although a calendar can be accessed for the present month as well as past and future months. The site provides links to videos related to the topics specific to the date and also provides an RRS link as means to subscribe via email for a daily post.

Or take a look at National Awareness Days, a British website created as a directory of awareness days. The site is arranged by month and includes International, American, British and European awareness days. You can subscribe and receive monthly AWARENESS DAYS ALERT emails or follow their blog to be notified about specific upcoming events. 

What date related tools or websites do you use to find ideas for creating displays? Share them through the Comments link.

RA Tips from Staff - Check the Back Cover!

Over the last month or so I have been talking with staff and others about ideas for regular posts on the blog. One suggestion which I found particularly appealing was for tips gleaned from the staff on providing readers' advisory service! What a great way to share some RA wealth and let others know how their co-workers work with customers! 

Starting today, April 15th, I will present RA Tips from Staff posts once a month, more if staff inundate me with tip suggestions. :-) Why I picked April 15th to begin this I don't know except that it is TAX Day! The forms have been submitted and everyone deserves to relax with something great to read! 

Ever been working with a customer, offering title suggestions, only to run out of ideas? Here is a readers' advisory tip from SCCCLD's own Sarah H (Technical Operations Dept) which might help:

"If you have exhausted the read-alikes for a popular author, turn to the back of the book. The authors that review their fellow authors may satisfy a reader's need."

Publishers pick those authors to provide quotes on purpose! Often they write in the same genre, on related topics or have a similar writing style. Those quotes can lead to other authors and titles the customer might want to consider, especially if they haven't read any of their books! 

Below are examples from some recently released books:

THE SELLOUT by Paul Beatty - a satirical novel about race, politics and popular culture in contemporary America

"The Sellout is brilliant. Amazing. Like demented angels wrote it." - Sarah Silverman [author of The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption and Pee]

"I am glad that I read this insane book alone, with no one watching, because I fell apart with envy, hysterics, and flat-out awe. Is there a more fiercely brilliant and scathingly hilarious American novelist than Paul Beatty?" - Ben Marcus [author of The Flame Alphabet]

"Paul Beatty has always been one of smartest, funniest, gutsiest writers in America, but The Sellout sets a new standard. It's a spectacular explosion of comic daring, cultural provocation, brilliant, hilarious prose, and genuine heart." - Sam Lipsyte [author of The Fun Parts: Stories]


PAST CRIMES by Glen Erik Hamilton - an action-packed, suspenseful debut 
introducing Van Shaw, a tough, morally ambiguous former criminal


“A home run off the first pitch - this guy has got what it takes.” — LEE CHILD, New York Times bestselling author of Personal

“A debut novel from a gifted writer with a sure hand. As much fun to read as Lee Child’s Jack Reacher.” — J.A. JANCE, New York Times bestselling author of Remains of Innocence

“Glen Erik Hamilton has crafted a compelling new hero in Van Shaw, an Army Ranger with a dark streak who operates in the spaces between shadow and light. PAST CRIMES is a zipline ride of a thriller, plummeting through the back alleys of Seattle where murder and intrigue reign supreme and the undead past lurks around the next wrong turn. Buckle in and hang on!” — GREGG HURWITZ, New York Times bestselling author of Don't Look Back

If you have a readers advisory tip to share, let me know so it can be featured in a future RA Tips from Staff post!