Fall 2007 - YALSA - American Library Association

McLean
DREW HAYDEN TAYLOR
13. Tie the book to a movie. If a movie
is based on a book, you have an
automatic tie-in; but, don’t be afraid
to go beyond the specific book and,
for example, tie in the Dragonriders of
Pern series with Eragon.
14. Make mine a contest. Have a bookrelated
contest such as a Harry Potter
contest, or a contest related to the last
book (The End) of Lemony Snicket’s
Series of Unfortunate Events.
15. Pimp your contest prizes. Book gift
certificates are great, but go with
whatever is going to draw your kids
into the library, such as coffee cards,
iTunes certificates, or local eatery
certificates.
16. Make your prize match your audience.
One librarian at a school for girls has
a special bracelet for her seventhgrade
Gone with the Wind (GWTW)
readers. If they read all one thousand
pages, they get a GWTW bracelet,
which has been very well-received!
17. Mix it up. Instead of holding separate
book clubs for students and faculty,
mix it up and have them both at one
meeting. You’ll be rewarded with
amazing discussions.
Marketing your materials:
18. Berkeley Preparatory School has a
convocation during which high school
students meet every morning for
twenty minutes of announcements.
There is always at least one slide
on a new book in the slideshow of
announcements.
19. Make your book talks a blast. Several
librarians dress in character when
giving book talks. So indulge your
inner actor!
20. Use props for your book talks.
21. Use your teen actors to do your book
talks. Teens are more likely to listen to
their peers.
22. Podcast or vodcast your book talks.
Don’t just present to a class; make a
vodcast and keep it on your library’s
Web site. Better yet, ask your teens to
create podcasts of themselves talking
up their favorite books.
23. Move ’em out. Prepare a book truck
with brightly colored graphics
indicating the genre and filled with
popular books; take it out to the
cafeteria, study halls, or anywhere the
kids gather.
24. Create short films to promote the
library using faculty and student
actors.
25. Celebrate Teen Read Week in
whatever manner works for you. For
example, because Teen Read Week
falls in October, have teens read
Halloween stories to primary school
students.
Third Step:
Be Organized!
26. Make it a point to promote your
new books. Make sure a significant
percentage of books get a book blurb
and are on display to generate interest.
27. Print out (in color if you can)
posters of newly acquired books and
post them throughout the campus
(including the restroom stalls!).
28. Change your bulletin boards
frequently and make them interesting.
It’s easy for that place to become
stagnant.
29. Have your students and faculty
contribute reviews and make those
reviews into bookmarks. The
bookmarks could have their photo,
the book’s cover, and a snippet of their
opinion on the book.
30. Update your signature file on your
e-mail account with a “What I’m
Reading Now” tag and encourage your
faculty and teens to do it as well.
31. If you go to ALA Midwinter Meetings
or Annual Conferences, bring back
A NATIVE GOTHIC NOVEL
A mesmerizing blend
of vampire thriller and
coming-of-age novel.
“... offers food for thought
as well as frights. Taylor
sensitively works several
important themes ... into his
treatment of discussionworthy
issues.”
—Quill & Quire starred review
Sample chapter and
teaching activities
available at
www.annickpress.com
annick
excellence & innovation
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Fall 2007 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 9