Friday, May 18, 2012

Library Display Inspiration: Colors and Reality TV

One of my weaknesses is library displays. My creativity is usually limited to propping up our new arrivals and moving on to the next task. I doubt that I will ever be a master at this skill, but I do want to improve so I've been looking for inspiration. I thought I would share some of the best displays I was able to find and inject a few ideas of my own.

I saw this photo by Covs97 on Flickr and was inspired to think about ways to use color for displays.

ORANGE you glad you read?

Then I saw this on Pinterest.

It's Not Easy Being Green
Photo on Flickr by Enokson.

Later I found this one with a black color scheme with the title "Books Are the New Black".  I started listing other ideas that use color. Here is my list and I would love to hear your ideas in comments:
Get a Black Belt in Reading
These Books are Red Hot or These Books are White Hot
Pretty in Pink
What have you RED lately?
Feeling BLUE? Try reading.

I referred to this site to stimulate my "colorful" phrases.

I know that I need to do a better job of making nonfiction appealing so I tried to thing of something that could highlight those titles. I saw this post about using reality shows to connect with nonfiction which got the wheels turning.
Here are few ideas I have so far including the reality show and a few fiction and nonfiction titles that are related:
1. River Monsters/Swamp People: Lost in the River of Grass, Chomp, River Monsters Scholastic book, World's Strangest Animals, anything nature or fishing
2. Mythbusters: Mythbusters Science Fair book, The Way Things Work, Do Not Open, The Secret Science Behind Movie Stunts and Special Effects, various other science activity books
3. The Voice/American Idol: musician and band biographies
4. Survivor/Survivorman/Man vs. Wild: Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness, The Hunger Games, Trapped in a Canyon, The Girl Who Owned a City graphic novel, Defying Death graphic novel series, Nature Girl
5. Dancing With the Stars/ So You Think You Can Dance/ Dance Moms: A Girl Named Faithful Plum, Bunheads, Snap Books dance series
6. The Apprentice: books on small business, career books
7. America's Next Top Model/ Project Runway: Bobbi Brown Beauty Rules, Teen Vogue Handbook, Seventeen 500 Beauty Tips, Lauren Conrad Style
8. Amazing Race: travel and country books, Weird US: A Freaky Field Trip Through the 50 States
9. Bachelor/Bachelorette: How to Talk to Girls, romance novels
10. Sons of Guns: Military weapons series from Scholastic, The History of the Gun, any history book on weapons
11. Comic Book Men: DC Adventures Heroes and Villains, any comics or manga, drawing books
12. The Biggest Loser: healthy cookbooks, sports manuals, health books on obesity and exercise
13. Hell's Kitchen: all my cookbooks, Incredibly Disgusting Food series, Weird But True Food
14. Ghost Hunters/ Fact or Faked: In Search of Sasquatch, The Paranormal Caught on Film I and II, Ghosts Caught on Film I and II, any supernatural books

OK. That was more than a few. I got carried away. Sorry. I couldn't think of anything for Jersey Shore, Housewives or Kardashians.

This is the Pinterest board I've started to collect some of the ideas. I also recently found this blog with great examples. I would love to hear your ideas, blog suggestions, library display Pinterest boards worth following and any other advice you have about library displays.

I'm sure the end of the year is as crazy for you as it is for me right now. I'll be posting soon about all the exciting professional development courses that are approaching soon. I hope your final few days or weeks go well!

10 comments:

  1. Another brilliant post Tamara! This is also a weakness of mine - displays - thank you so much for the inspiration! I will def try & step up my display game next year!
    ~Gwyneth

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  2. Brilliant! Filing this in my BoSY (beginning of school year) folder. Displays are always a weakness of mine, too. There are so many other things to do, but I need to remember the power of catchy displays.

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  3. Thanks for including IN SEARCH OF SASQUATCH in your "Reality TV" line up, Tamara. Cliff Barackman rm "Finding Bigfoot" is featured in my book, so it literally fits, too. Consider TALES OF THE CRYPTIDS and ALIEN INVESTIGATION too, if you need a couple more titles under that heading. My favorite theme is weird!

    Kelly Milner Halls

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  4. Thanks, Kelly! My students love your book. It has been passed around since I purchased it.

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  5. I just did a Jersey Shore display ... "Jersey Lore", with a sign featuring Snooki. All books were set in NJ.

    Add to your color displays: Orange you going to read?

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    Replies
    1. Cute idea, Martha. Do you remember which titles you used? Maybe I can steal that idea:)

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  6. My "Jersey Lore" display was for high school students. I used these books from my collection:

    Close to shore : the terrifying shark attacks of 1916,
    Capuzzo, Mike

    Rosie and Skate,
    Bauman, Beth Ann

    Tell us we're home,
    Budhos, Marina Tamar

    If I could fly,
    Cofer, Judith Ortiz

    Accomplice,
    Corrigan, Eireann

    Huge : a novel,
    Fuerst, James W. (James William)

    Football Hero,
    Green, Tim

    Karma bites,
    Kramer, Stacy

    Absolute brightness,
    Lecesne, James

    Center field,
    Lipsyte, Robert

    Dunk,
    Lubar, David

    Pinned,
    Martino, Alfred C.

    Mermaid Park,
    Mayall, Beth

    Second helpings : a novel,
    McCafferty, Megan

    Sloppy firsts : a novel,
    McCafferty, Megan

    Shades of Simon Gray,
    McDonald, Joyce

    Swallowing stones,
    McDonald, Joyce

    Kick, Myers,
    Walter Dean

    So punk rock (and other ways to disappoint your mother
    Ostow, Micol

    Fire will fall,
    Plum-Ucci, Carol

    Streams of Babel,
    Plum-Ucci, Carol

    Bullyville,
    Prose, Francine

    He's so not worth it,
    Scott, Kieran

    Confessions of a teenage drama queen,
    Sheldon, Dyan

    After ever after,
    Sonnenblick, Jordan

    Same difference,
    Vivian, Siobhan

    War & watermelon,
    Wallace, Rich

    Jack : secret circles,
    Wilson, F. Paul (Francis Paul)

    My life, the theater, and other tragedies,
    Zadoff, Allen

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  7. I have a young lady that does a new colour-themed book display for me each month. We have not come up with anything approaching the wit of your slogans, so thank you very much! There are really great ideas here.

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  8. Thank you Tamara. I do a lot of our displays and usually have a good time doing it but lately I've been running out of ideas. Thanks for the help.

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