Every month, my TBR gets longer. And I’m perfectly okay with that.
I never buy books. For years now, I have used my library as my only source for reading materials. I also have an entire system for managing my TBR (I suspect many of you have a system, too!). I make lists divided by reading occasion: For vacation, for the holidays, for when I need a laugh, etc.
I also use my library to find books to read. I search my library’s NoveList Plus database, of course, but I also rely on lists my library publishes on its website. However, the most impactful collection promotions I receive are emails. They alert me to new books and great reads from past years that I may have missed. I guess we can blame my library for my long TBR!
But I don’t think they’ll complain. Most libraries want to get more people to visit the library and use their library cards. And the number one draw for your library is your collection.
Consistent messaging leads readers to use the library
Focusing your library marketing efforts on the collection is a smart decision. According to Library Journal’s Budget and Funding survey, circulation at public libraries in the United States rose 6.1 percent in 2023. Your community wants more books!
The easiest way to share your collection with your community is through consistent collection promotion emails. Libraries know that’s the key to successfully breaking through the noise and getting their readers’ attention. All you have to do is send simple email book lists like this one from Coastline Libraries once a week or once a month to your community of readers. LibraryAware subscribers can do this easily. They can use NextReads newsletters to deliver consistent collection promotions. Readers can sign up for as many genre and topic-based newsletters of reading recommendations as they want.
The newsletters are customizable, so you can add or remove books and promote related services, as Harris County Public Library did in this newsletter. Ames Public Library makes it easy for readers to find and sign up for these newsletters by directing readers to this fantastic landing page. The Albert L. Scott Library reminds readers to sign up for their newsletters with periodic social media posts.
Subscribers to NextReads get their automatic reading recommendations delivered straight to their inboxes. It’s that easy! The selections are curated by the book experts at NoveList, and they’re linked to your catalog. That makes it easy for you to facilitate the growing TBRs of your community of readers.
And here’s one more tip from Jenny Levins-Hertell of Iredell County Public Library. She checks the metrics on her email newsletters to see what books her readers are most interested in. That can help her and the staff at her library decide on book displays and make collection decisions.
"Emails have been a huge help for us. In our area, people are still very much opening our emails and engaging with that. I look at the statistics and check out what links are being clicked, what's drawing people's attention.”
"Emails have been a huge help for us. In our area, people are still very much opening our emails and engaging with that. I look at the statistics and check out what links are being clicked, what's drawing people's attention.”
Angela Hursh is Manager of Library Engagement, Marketing, and Professional Development for NoveList. She is currently reading (and loving!) The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See and listening to Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey.
