Adopt-a-shelf programs at public and school libraries ask volunteers to be responsible for shelf-reading and straightening a designated section of the library, usually a section to which the volunteer feels a personal attachment.

I am blessed this semester with seven student interns and I am conscious of making sure that the time they spend with me involves them in  creative and challenging activities.

I am also concerned that our wonderful print collection is under used.

So, instead of adopting a shelf, I’ve tasked three of my interns to adopt-a-display.

Here’s the plan.

Each young man is currently planning to market a particular genre, sub-genre, or type of book. They can use a variety of poster making tools, genre Wordles, QR codes, graphics of any sort to call attention to their displays. They can physically point their classmates to the books they display. We’ve decided on a simple metric to determine success.  Circulation. Books in each display area will have a different color paper strip in its pocket.  We’ll collect and count the strips as we check out the books.  (I’d do something to tag the books in the circ/cat, but we’re in the midst of a migration and this is just really easy.)

Marcus, Brandon and Gabe are pretty excited about the challenge and taking the competition seriously.  They are currently researching genre and sub-genre options, studying the catalog and the collection, and thinking about design options.

I’ll keep you posted!