Making fiction visible : the use of displays to promote fiction in public libraries

The aim of this study is to examine the fiction promoting role of public librarians through their fiction displays. The study covers three problems: What reasons do public librarians give for their selection of displayed fiction? How do public librarians view fiction displays in relation to other promotion strategies? How do public librarians think that promotion through fiction displays will evolve in the future?The results of the study have been analyzed using Jofrid Karner Smidt’s theory of how public librarians view their promotion of fiction. The concepts used are promotion due to public demand, actively recommending and informative promotion, and through dialogue. To account for the problems investigated in the study, eight librarians have been questioned through semi-structured interviews. Observations of fiction displays were also made at the time of those interviews.Through their selections, the librarians aim to support the users’ reading habits as well as to challenge and broaden those habits. According to the informants, displays affect the number of loans, but the book covers are also significant. The librarians see fiction displays as an opportunity to display fiction that corresponds to their personal tastes. Speculating about the future, librarians find it likely that the selection of fiction displayed online will be more influenced by users’ demand. For the future of physical libraries, librarians hope that libraries will work harder to display fiction that is often overlooked.Program: Bibliotekari