[Michlib-l] Blind date with a book display

Wed Jan 29 11:04:14 EST 2014

What a lot of GREAT ideas!  I've summarized the comments I received for
others who are interested, as well as attachments that were shared.

Thanks to EVERYONE who responded.
Happy Hump Day!

Sylvia Merz

1.  Books are given away - we use a combination of donated books and books
we have weeded from our collection.  Hardback or trade paperback, in good
condition.

2.  Books are wrapped in whatever extra wrapping paper staff had available
(Christmas, birthday, newspaper cartoons, etc)

3.  Displays are set-up in adult and teen areas (both have been popular).

4.  Patron picks up wrapped book, takes home, reads & perhaps discovers new
author; some patrons bring back the books and we either re-use in program or
give to friends' group for book sale.

I have attached a copy of the Blind Date with a Book for Teens flyer we use
in the display.  You just need to modify slightly for adults.

Annett - goikea at libcoop.net

---------------------------------

We did Blind date and the people who participated enjoyed it.

Briefly--we had each of the librarians pull some of their favorite books so
we could hit multiple genres and find books we recommended. We purchased "Hi
My Name Is" type badge stickers. We wrapped the books in plain kraft paper,
then put on the sticker. The librarian recommending it wrote a little teaser
on it so that people would know what kind of book they were
taking--something like "Hello. I am a quick-paced tale of lost treasure, set
in the mysterious mountains of Peru" or "Hello. If you love warm stories of
life among the Amish, I am sure to be your next date!" etc. (I made those
up)-you get the idea. We didn't want people who only liked Christian Fiction
to get a scandinavian crime novel. So it seemed fair to at least lead them
to their general genre or temperament.

We put the out on display with a sign explaining that they
could/would/should check them out as is (since we have rfid, there is no
need to open them to checkout) and take them home before unwrapping them. I
think it was important to have some explanation so people "got" that it was
about them trying something new and unexpected. 

If you don't have rfid, you'll have to think of another way to circulate
them, such as just cutting out a hole where the barcode is so they can be
surprised AFTER they check them out!

Kelli  kperkins at herrickdl.org

---------------------------------

We wrapped the books in brown paper. We wrote some adjectives or
characteristics or "personality traits" on the outside to entice a reader's
interest. I've seen some libraries cut out the brown wrapper to show the
barcode if they place the barcode on the outside of the book. Our barcodes
happen to be on the inside so we wrote the barcode on the outside of the
book. We also kept a list at the circulation desk so we could cross of which
ones were checked out for easy, fast reference and to help facilitate adding
more to the display. Many patrons liked the idea and some liked to test
themselves and guess the title of the book. All in all the staff had fun and
so did the Tracie Alger talger at bigrapids.lib.mi.us 

------------------------------

In general, we are wrapping the book, putting the barcode on the outside of
the package, and making up a summary that includes genres, age interests if
applicable, and subject.  If it is a mystery, for example, we will also put
a mystery sticker on the outside of the package.  Just enough info, so the
person has a general idea what they are getting, so they don't end up with a
"trashy romance" when they only read "Christian" fiction, for example.
That's my understanding of it, but I'm not the one setting up the display.
Let me know your specific questions. Good luck.

Jennifer Walters aitkinlibrary at sbcglobal.net

------------------------------

For the past 2 years, I have done something similar for Christmas.  It is
"Unwrap a good book"  I have attached a picture so you can see what the
display looks like.

The books are all wrapped and on the tag, I put the book barcode, so that it
can be checked out without being unwrapped,  and a description of the book,
so patrons can see if it is something they are interested in.

LeAnn Beckwith lbeckwith at hillsdale-library.org

-----------------------------

 At the Norton Shores Branch Library back in August 2013 we adapted the
Blind Date book promotion to work with kids and called it Brown Bag Reading.
Our goal was to keep kids reading after summer reading had ended.

I'm attaching files that have the staff instructions on how we ran the
program, along with a couple of the draft mock-ups for our promotional
materials. It was a big success for us, and we are definitely doing it
again. It's perfect for February! My most important suggestion is be sure to
prep (i.e. wrap up and label)enough books--we really underestimated interest
and were constantly prepping more books into bags throughout the whole
month. And if you have a better way (i.e. automated via your ILS) to track
how many books are circulated that would help, too.

Allison Purgiel  apurgiel at madl.org 

---------------------------------------

I picked out an assortment of books from each genre that might have flown
under the radar or surprised me or were highly recommended by others. I also
asked staff if they had any favorite books they thought most people hadn't
read. Then I wrapped them in paper with the barcode cut out. I wrote a
number on the back of the book that corresponded to a list of titles that we
kept behind the circulation counter. It would be easy enough to just scan
the barcode if staff needed to know what the book was, but I'm going to make
a list again because it came in handy when we were searching for a book that
was "in" but not on the shelf.

My favorite part of this whole display was creating personal ads for the
books. I don't have access to any of them from home, but they went along the
lines of "Classic femme fatale detective novel seeks serious reader who
enjoys sharp plot twists." It was a lot of fun! Our patrons loved it, and we
had many people come back for a second or third date. 

I'e also attached a fun program for teens for Valentine's Day -
Anti-Valentine's Day Party. It's something I got from another library. It
has detailed materials lists, timelines, instructions for games, everything.
I might try to do it this year... 

Michelle Schubert erlibprograms at gmail.com 

-------------------------------------------

We did the "Blind Date with a Book - Art & Mystery jpg attached" display
last year and it was quite popular. We deliberately used books that don't
circulate much, but got good reviews. I wrote a blurb from an author review
on the cover on the wrapping, to give patrons an enticing teaser.  Our
library uses RFID, so checking out wasn't a problem. Otherwise, you could
write the barcode on the back of the wrapping.

Some libraries have used brown paper. I used newspaper classifieds (would
have loved to use the "Personal Ads" if I could have found them. I also
wrapped them in a bit of colored construction paper to make them look more
festive.  A few people reported back that it was quite a treat to get a
literal surprise at the library.

Lindsey Harnish lharnish at ferndalepubliclibrary.org 

-----------------------------------

We used a bunch of left over books from our book sale ( in very nice shape)
and wrapped them in plain brown kraft  paper and then we added a tag that
said Have a Blind Date with Me--  on some we did put romance, science
fiction, mystery, etc but you really don't have to do that.  We put a small
fruit jar by the display and asked for donations.  We have made over $50.00
on it so far.  We are a very small library and we really did not have a good
display area- we used one of the library tables-  If you had a bigger area
you could do more with it.  Hope this helps.

Richard Klender klenders at centurytel.net

---------------------------

Canton Public Library did this program a year ago.  You can see our blog
posting <http://www.cantonpl.org/blog/post/blind-date-book> .  We are not
repeating it this year because we're undergoing some reconstruction starting
February 2nd.  

Please feel free to respond with your questions.

Ellen Pare paree at cantonpl.org

-------------------------------

I am trying a version of Blind Date with a Book at my library, but it is a
little different from the way most libraries that I've seen do it. 

We're using the program to deplete some of our used bookstore overstock (and
do something fun at the library, of course). I've taken some of the nicer
donations of less popular authors. Wrapped them with tags that say things
like "Cozy Mystery", etc. On the reverse side of the tag is a place for a
person's library card #, name, and a brief review. If they return a review
they are entered in a drawing for an actual date. (Our Friends group donated
gift cards to a local restaurant and movie theater). 

There's been quite a bit of interest so far (I put the books out last
Monday. 

Elizabeth Campion campiee4 at gmail.com 

------------------------------

We have done the Blind Date display and do another one for Banned Book Week
where we wrap up books. For the Blind Date one we simply wrap up the book
and write the barcode on it for check out purposes. On the Banned Book one
we put a brief description of the reason for the banning and write the
barcode on it. In or computer we set the books in a display status this way
if someone is looking for it we know where to look. Hope this info helps!
Laura Rodriguez-Irwin gntlri at llcoop.org 

----------------------------------

Whew - hope this helps folks; it certainly did me.

Sylvia

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