Information Scotland The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland ISSN 1743-5471 Issue contents | Journal contents | About the online edition of the journal February 2003 Volume 1 (1)

Reader development

What are you doing tomorrow?

Don't leave Matthew Perren alone with the tumbleweed - he wants you to respond to his ideas. Read on and take action - now!

In a couple of months I'll have been doing my job for a year. That'll be me half way through my contract and in another 12 months time I'll be away: a dim and distant memory.

In the meantime I'm still here, a living breathing resource with 17 years of bookselling experience behind me. Experience of doing promotions; writing recommendations; training and encouraging people to do the same; setting up reading groups; recruiting and training people to share their love of books with the public; choosing and buying contemporary fiction, poetry, narrative non-fiction and every other category under the sun.

I've been writing articles in this journal for 10 months and I've been putting out the Reader Development Bulletin for nearly as long. I enjoy it. I like hearing an idea, understanding how it works and then passing it on.

And there's my problem. I pass on ideas and then... nothing. I sit in the office in Hamilton and watch the tumble weed go past. At least I have my heavy-lifting, high dusting and making tea for the Director to keep me busy.

But you can save me and here's how. Below you'll find some ideas. They are cheap, easy to do and will be more helpful in increasing your issues than doing nothing. I'm on the other end of the phone for anyone who wants to ask for help or advice. I might even come to see you if you ask nicely.

The first idea is really simple. Put some books face out at the front of the library. In order to choose the best place for them, walk out of the front door, clear your mind and pretend you're a library user (well you are aren't you?) and walk back in again. Where did your eye fall first? Put the display there.

Once you've done that, you can start to play with the books you put there. A good first principle in Reader Development is: try to pick books that haven't issued for a while because, let's face it, Catherine Cookson and Margaret Thompson Davis don't need the help.

Done that? OK now you can start to play. Here are some ideas I've seen used in libraries and bookshops. They all work.

• Books from a particular country: You could have Italian novels, travel guides, travel literature, even cook books.

• Books that are about to be withdrawn. You could call it "Last Chance to See.." or "Last Chance Saloon" and if you think they're lame then think up your own.

• When I was bookselling I had a list of short books in my head that I used to recommend to people who didn't know what to read next. Usually the authors with a fairly large backlist so that if they enjoyed the snack they might go on and eat a full meal. It worked really well. People sought me out to thank me for introducing them to an author they might otherwise have missed. I have a list here that I can let you have as a starter. If you've a short book of your own that you'd like to add then let me know.

• Books that have blue covers. Or red or green or orange. You decide. I'm not kidding; this not only looks lovely but it works. Titles get brought together that would never normally get within 10 yards of each other which challenges your readers to pick up something new.

• Shout about your new stock before it arrives. One library I visited had produced a list of forthcoming books. It was photocopied, on three sheets, just titles and author names. They had produced hundreds of copies - but they had all been taken in the first week. Perhaps you could add a reservation slip to the bottom. It's great to pique the interest of your readers like that and to encourage them to use your services.

• Get colleagues to write a short recommendation for their favourite book. It should be no more than three sentences long and written in clear, accessible English. I have templates here that I can let you have that will allow you to type the comments onto address labels which you can then stick on the book. (Some libraries use the back, some the front, some inside the front cover.) Display them prominently at the front of the library, face out, indicating that they are recommended reads. You could even photocopy the sheet of labels and stick that up too. I've got some sheets of recommendations already done here that I will happily email. Of course you'll have to put up with the books I recommend. I dare you...

• You could put a slip into the book to encourage readers to feed back their own opinions on how they found it. These can be left with the book to create a sort of informal book chain or copied and pinned up for everyone to read.

So there you are. Some quick and easy things to try along with the offer of cheerful, well-informed and, frankly, free help. I don't think it gets better than that does it?

Contact me! 01698 458 888. 07799 662 931 (mobile); slic1@slainte.org.uk.

Information Scotland Vol. 1 (1) February 2003

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