For a lot of libraries, summertime is all about summer reading, those time-honored programs that encourage patrons to measure how much they read. But we all know that reading is about more than just quantity. If you've got readers trying to increase their reading stats without sacrificing quality, you'll need to run the gamut of readers' advisory — and that's where NextReads comes in.
As librarians, you can use NextReads newsletters — especially the Advance List, which gives you a sneak peek at selections three months ahead of time — to keep you up to date in unfamiliar areas, as well as create reading lists, books displays, and digital content. (And that's not just for the newest books on your shelves — NextReads themes can help you market your backlist collection, too.) As for readers, NextReads offers so much variety across 24 newsletters that anyone, no matter their age or reading preferences, can find *something* that meets their definition of quality.
For example, here's a tiny taste of what's coming up in June:
- A Short Stories theme in Fiction A-Z, for readers whose summers are too busy for long reads
- For readers who love a good summer scare, our Horror newsletter spotlights the most recent batch of Bram Stoker Award winners (shout out to all of you Dracula Daily fans)
- Those who hope for more excitement in their summer travels will appreciate the Vacation Interrupted theme in Mystery
- Readers feeling the love for LGBTQIA romance during Pride Month should be sure to check out TJ Alexander's Chef's Kiss and Claire Kann's The Romantic Agenda in Romance, as well as Casey McQuiston's I Kissed Shara Wheeler in Teen Scene (it's the author's YA debut)
In July, we’ve got:
- A Great Outdoors theme in Christian Fiction, offering some imaginary excursions for those who can't actually get away this summer
- New crowd-pleasers in Picture Books from award-winning illustrator Bryan Collier as well as Ian Falconer, creator of the popular Olivia series (great diversions for fractious little ones)
- A new issue of our Page to Screen newsletter, which helps you track the hottest book adaptations of the summer in TV and movies
Those are just a handful of what NextReads has to offer. To fully utilize the 100+ hand-crafted book recommendations NextReads provides every month, you'll want to give all your patrons a chance to subscribe. All it takes is some promotion using the freshly revamped flyers, headers, and widgets that are all ready to go in LibraryAware.
Rebecca Honeycutt is a Senior Readers' Advisory Librarian at NoveList. She is currently reading vast amounts of Our Flag Means Death fanfiction and listening to A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall
