We want to hear from you!

We would love to see what you have been doing in your libraries. Please join our Flickr group and share your thoughts, ideas, and photos!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/librarymerchandising/

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope your Thanksgiving displays have been up since before Halloween.
Do you have your winter holidays displays up?
Have a Happy Holiday

To Have and to Hold

We have given our merchandising presentation to many library districts in the metro area and one concern always comes up.


"Doesn't a display take titles away from customers placing a hold?"

or "How do you find it in a display unit?"

First, take the sour puss candies out of your mouth. Let's remember our mission: helping customers connect with our materials. Do you want the alternative to be that items just sit and grow dust?

To this we offer a resounding "Not a chance!"


While it is wonderful that we offer many electronic services, we shouldn't neglect the patron that actually visits. Many feel that we place too much emphasis on the request lists. A lot of this worry comes from a fear of change. We are used to the old ways and believe that to remove a book from the shelf is to doom it to the black hole of lost items. Displays aren't meant to take titles away from customers. In fact, when done correctly they will showcase titles that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. Current displays, like a holiday one, are anticipating what the patron will be looking for and puts the titles front and center.


Here are a few rules of thumb that will make this a fearless process.

• Keep the number of displays in proportion to your collection. Displays should be little showcases, not the majority of your collection.
• Communicate to your staff what is on display.
• Stay organized by using a calendar or a display list at service desks.
• Don't include often requested items in a display. Put those items at the check out desk for a quick turn over.

When you create eye-catching displays, chances are the titles will be checked out before someone requests a hold. But be ready to offer some alternatives to your patron if the title is unavailable.

Banned Books

Tomorrow finishes up banned books week and we hope everyone out there promoted your collections. Check out www.theloudlibrarian.net for her fabulous take on the banned books display.

Abuzz

I saw this article in the New York Times and it reminded me of a display a I did some time ago. Newsworthy events are great for display topics. By staying right on top of breaking news events, you are promoting your library as a source of information.


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/garden/27bees.html?ex=1348632000&en=a67d83e5c1fa4b02&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

A MUST READ

"The Aesthetics of Merchandise Presentation" by Joseph Weishar is by far the BEST current book on the subject. I read it cover to cover and just want to yell from the top of the book shelves "Yes, Yes, Yes! This can work in libraries too!" From Kmart to Nordstroms the book runs the gamut on what works and how to do it. Come on libraries and librarians. There IS a right and wrong way to do things. Do we want to look classy and polished and get our stuff checked out?

Prop storage

After collecting props for over 5 years we were in a bit of a bind. Having no storage we tried to keep them as organized as possible. Where oh where was rubber chicken when we needed it?! We had to get serious. When looking for fake fruits they had to be readily available.
Here's what we did:
Took every single prop and laid them out in the conference room.

Here's what we discovered:
*Items broken and too dusty to use
*Duplicate items
*Found things we were looking for
*Found stuff we didn't even know we had

How many sets of chopsticks did we need? If I saw that avocado green oblong dish in one more display I was going to hurdle it.

Here's how we are going to stay organized:
*Items put in labeled boxes
*Nothing under pressure, folded, crushed
*All boxes have lids so as to deter dust
*Boxes we use all the time kept on the 1st floor
*Boxes we use once a year kept on the 2nd floor
*Share, share, share. Other branches are taking a turn at using the hockey stick, golf club, jungle fauna, hoola skirts, etc.

If you are lucky enough to have ample storage I'm sure there are even other solutions. Please share!

Chicken Soup for the Merchandiser's Soul

I love this display idea. It is easy to do and circulated very well. Using all of the titles in the Chicken Soup series gave a unified and very 'bookstore' look. The next time I do this display, I'll stack many soup cans on the top shelf to give it more of a 'Warhol' look.
Hmmm the repetition of the similar covers already looks reminiscent of Andy Warhol, this could look cool as part of a pop art theme. Imagine other endcaps featuring pop art books and how easy would it be to make pop art style signs on the photocopier? One endcap could even be soup cookbooks with the Warhol soupcan pictures as a backdrop. I am inspired already!

Inspiration

I get inspired everywhere. It is a curse. So many ideas, so little time. Even lunch through the Arby's drive thru yielded this idea from a cup: "Happiness is just a curly fry away". It is also a heart attack away, but if you simply substitute "good book" you got yourself a display "Happiness is a just a good book away". Add a goofy yellow happy face to your sign and it's perfect.

At a new neighborhood pizza "boutique" they have a roll of butcher paper hung horizontally. They pull down what they need and write their daily specials. How cool would this be at the front of the library?! One could write the new books that came in, daily programs, fun quotes, etc. Someone with whimsical handwritting (Oh Trish!) could really do it justice.

Your gift with purchase

Bookmarks are a great way to feature booklists and bibliographies and can be a promotional give away item, much like a "free gift with purchase." They are something that your customers can use with their purchase and it costs very little to produce. By providing your patrons with suggested reading lists, you are guarenteeing return visits. When using bookmarks, feature them prominently, not laying flat on a table and use them with CPS and your displays.

For CPS, create some read alike lists for popular authors, such as “If you like Stephen King, then try…” Pick a couple of popular authors you want to feature and put the bookmarks in the books on the shelves. This will serve two purposes. First they grab your customer’s attention when they are browsing the fiction, just like the blinking coupon dispensers in the grocery store. Second, they give your customer a reason to come back by providing them with other authors they might like.

With displays, create a bibliography of your themed titles and put them inside the books. Bookmarks can also promote your library services and upcoming community events. Try a bookmark about ADA services in your large print titles or computer classes in your computer manuals. There are many reader's advisory sources that can provide you with suggested reading lists such as NoveList, Fiction and Non-Fiction Connection, and the Genreflecting series.

Introductions

We started this site as a forum for library merchandising. We both believe that merchandising library collections to their full potential will create interest, make for a more enjoyable visit and increase circulation.

Trish brings over 15 years of retail experience with many different companies. Along with customer service, she has merchandised products, designed and executed displays, and set up new store locations. Jenny has been a librarian for over 15 years. Her charge at the Schlessman Family Branch of the Denver Public Library was to try this new thing: “library merchandising”.

When we met, we both recognized the usefulness of merchandising and the success created when these principles are applied to libraries. After giving numerous presentations on library merchandising, we decided to reach out across the web to create a place for an exchange of ideas and resources. We were surprised and pleased to find that library merchandising has appeared in library literature as early as the 1970s. Our goal is to add retail know-how to the mix to create a unique and handy source for you to consult when merchandising your collection. Our intention is to demonstrate these proven retail techniques in order to promote your collections through enticing experiences and help you create an identity for your library. Both, in turn, will build customer and community loyalty.