GIFSL*: 26. Face-out Fiction

When you look at bookshops, it's all about the covers, books face-out to entice browsers to engage and then to buy.

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For a school library, there may not be space to have lots of books face out.  But there are always opportunities.  The ends of shelves are one.  We can't afford slat-wall, or some of the other solutions, but I wanted to do something about the shelf ends in fiction, for starters.  Since a lot of our shelving is against the wall, we don't have as many 'ends' as some libraries. 

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But take a look at fiction.  The picture books are in a face-out stand, and the free-standing spinner more than earns its keep - we are constantly refilling it. But on those tall shelf units, blank ends.  An opportunity for improvement. 

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Then I found some perspex pockets at Office Max (they were cheaper than I found at Officeworks).  When you're searching for these, 'brochure' or 'brochure holder' seems to be useful keywords.  We bought enough for the top three shelves, plus some self-adhesive hook and loop tape.  And thus you have...

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...enticing books at eye level, books rather than blank shelf ends.  We are going to improve the letter signs, and we may buy more perspex pockets for the bottom shelves - weren't sure if these would get bingled by kids or trolleys.  The A5 pockets hold most fiction books and were around $10 each.  Not cheap, but not impossibly expensive either - certainly cheaper than slat-wall.

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What you need: some brochure holders (ours are wall-mounted rather than free-standing) and some self-adhesive hook and loop tape (when I priced brand-name Velcro, made in the US, versus hook and loop tape, made in China, at Bunnings Hardware, the same size - 2.5m x 25mm white self-adhesive - was over $25 for the Velcro vs $4.95 for the other).  We put a couple of vertical strips of the tape on the shelf/holder, and it's hidden when there's a book on display.

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We have plans for downstairs in nonfiction, too.  Later...

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Cheers, Ruth

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* GIFSL = Good Ideas For School Libraries