How to Advertise Fiction in the Library

 I think that some of the best resources that a library has to advertise its fiction collection are the librarians themselves that work with the collection. Many fiction collections are already high quality, with vast and varied collections that service all kinds of different reader needs. So, what is the best way to get patrons to come and interact with that collection? How do libraries reach members of the community that haven't been to the library before? Some may think that patrons prefer to use Internet resources or social media for their recommendations, or using the digital library services on offer. This is a perfectly fine way for them to interact with the collection, but there are opportunities that librarians can become a guide, or even a quasi-salesperson, for those patrons by offering conversation.

The public library is not a business, so to blanket apply business practices would be a mislead gesture, but there are elements of customer service and salespersonship that I think libraries can train their librarians to do that will keep patrons engaged with the collection. Just basic things, smiling, saying hello, a quick question about how they can help, beginning a conversation has enormous power to bring the patron further into the collection for them to engage with. Helping them find the work they are after can give the librarian the opportunity to make further recommendations, talk about upcoming book clubs or community events, guide the patron through other services in the library like digital services. There's some salespersonship that can be done in that conversation; there's some infectious positivity that can transfer when someone gets a chance to talk about the things they like and are interested in. Training librarians to start that conversation and share their interest in the library and collection can help that patron walk away with that positive experience that they share with their friends and family. 

In that way, I think giving some prominence to librarians that are comfortable with it can help give the library and the fiction collection a face that the patron can interact with. Giving librarians a platform where they can share their favorite and current reads, giving out their own recommendations, giving them the opportunity to gush about the things that like about the collection, can help further that conversation and trust that begins after the welcome. Librarian spotlights on the website, showcasing a week's worth of a librarian's picks, giving them the opportunity to "sell" the collection by just giving them the opportunity to talk about the things they like and be heard, can open up the collection for patrons to consider works of fiction they might not even had considered if not for their librarian recommending it so.

To take that a step further, having those librarians that are comfortable with having a little celebrity to them can be powerful social media personalities. If some people prefer the digital space for recommendations, librarians can meet them there. Engaging in Booktok, facilitating online book clubs, making story-time live streams, podcasts and author interviews, having those few librarians that are those kinds of personalities develop online communities can help those patrons that find them online to decide to come participate in the physical space of the library and engage with the community they are part of online.

Giving librarians the training and opportunities to be their own advocates for the fiction collection, I think, can be the most effective means of advertising the collection.