Your Librarians Are Reading, Too

Ah, Summer Reading is upon us. One thing I like to do each summer is find a way to highlight the fact that we don’t expect kids to be the only ones reading this summer – your children’s librarians are reading, too! We’ve tried several iterations of “librarian reading logs”: individual reading logs and group reading logs. I think this year’s is the best yet!

We know that book covers are much more eye-catching than a list of titles, so this year I’m asking my staff to add book covers to a group “reading log” that’s posted on the most visible side of our Children’s reference desk. I used bulletin board paper to make a big poster and the sign says “Check out what your librarians are reading this summer!” Get it? “Check out”? 🙂

As we read this summer, our poster will grow and grow. Hopefully some of the book covers will catch somebody’s eye and encourage him or her to engage with us about the books we’re reading this summer. I’m hoping it’ll be an opener to some great readers’ advisory transactions.

We also put up a book display near our fiction section where we can actually place some of the books we’ve been reading for kids to browse or check out:

The sign affixed to the shelf says “Hey! A librarian picked me up and read me… I think you should, too!” Each book has a bookmark inside that indicates a genre or readalike. We’ve already had great success with this display and we’ve been refilling it often!

How do you show your kids that you’re reading?

— Abby Johnson, Children’s Services Manager
New Albany-Floyd County Public Library
New Albany, IN
http://www.abbythelibrarian.com