Displays help point out new, fun things at libraries

Lynne Zeiher

Pierce County Library System

Choices, choices, choices. It can be great to have lots of them, but it can sometimes be overwhelming. At the Peninsula Pierce County Library, we have more than 130,000 items, and Key Center has more than 35,000.

That’s a lot to choose from when you walk in the door.

We have systems to organize it all, but what if you don’t have a lot of time to wander through the thousands of items on the shelves?

One of our techniques to make your library trip fast, convenient and rewarding is to create numerous eye-catching displays that feature items on interesting and timely topics. We also like to throw in some DVDs, CDs and talking books to complement the fiction and non-fiction selections.

Each display has a theme, and they change frequently, usually about once a week. It’s a great way to discover subjects you might not realize are at the public library.

Sometimes the themes are really obvious, such as holiday books at special times of the year, but most are a bit more esoteric.

Currently, there is a display called “Didgeridoos and Kangaroos” featuring books on travel, nature and facts about Australia, the Great Barrier Reef and Aboriginal people.

There are also biographies of Australians such as Geraldine Brooks. One of my favorite book titles, “Mutant Message Down Under” by Marlo Morgan, is there, too.

These displays are not just for show. All the materials are available for you to pick up, check out and take home. That’s why we have them.

As you walk into the Peninsula and Key Center libraries, directly ahead of you is one of our most popular collections, Books Plus to Go. These special display units house recently released trade and mass market paperbacks.

Other high-demand items are also here, such as books that have been adapted for the big screen.

When a best-seller comes out in paperback, chances are good that copies will be on the Books Plus To Go shelves. In other words, it is lots of the good stuff right up front and easy to grab. Looking for something new? Both branches have special shelves for new fiction and non-fiction books.

In Peninsula, a large display area sits by the conference room door called “The Wall.” Staff keep it stocked with all kinds of new materials, from talking books and children’s titles, to music and new books on anything and everything. It’s always a great mix.

There are also a few choice books in holders at the end of many of our shelving aisles. Not only are the books highlighted, but their placement helps serve as a bit of a guide to what’s on those shelves.

One new end of the aisle display in the adult and teen fiction areas holds “graphic novels.” They include Japanese manga books, but they have also evolved into a sophisticated art form all their own.

Sometimes our displays hang from the ceiling or the walls. Several times each year our talented local quilters show off their incredible creations. Often, the quilts are ones they have done for themselves, but sometimes they are connected to an event, such as the annual Gig Harbor Quilt Festival Breast Cancer Fund.

Our walls currently have a variety of art pieces from a number of the 24 local artists on the next Open Studio Tour scheduled for Sept. 20-21. Displayed now are paintings, metal sculptures and jewelry.

We always love having these extra decorative elements in our library and are very pleased that these groups share their talents with the public — and with the staff, who get to see them almost every day.

Lynne Zeiher works for the Pierce County Library System. She can be reached at LZeiher@piercecountylibrary.org.