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The tasks were interesting and cleverly designed to encourage you to think latitudinally, looking at different options and considering the development of the reader. The course introduced new ideas gradually and gave you opportunities to apply them practically. My mentor offered timely and clear advice, giving me areas to think about without spoon-feeding the ‘correct’ answers.
- Managers and collections librarians
- College libraries
- Advanced
Creating themed collections
Libraries have rich, varied collections, but it is not always easy to help students discover everything they offer. Publishing trends, changing genres and new cover designs constantly reshape the way books are presented, while excellent backlist titles can easily be overlooked.
This course will help you refresh your book knowledge and create eye-catching capsule collections that spark student curiosity and encourage them to try something new. You will learn how to select, curate and present books in ways that reveal unexpected connections and make hidden gems more visible. The collections you create will give you a versatile toolkit for digital promotions, engaging library displays and confident reader recommendations.
Your Mentor will provide detailed feedback on your ideas and book selections, using their expertise to challenge your thinking and help you create engaging, original collections. They will support you in developing practical skills and wider book knowledge that you can apply confidently in your everyday work.
40 staff completed · 16 services
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
Identify unifying concepts and themes that connect diverse titles across library collections to create engaging capsule promotions
Understand the difference between subject-based displays and creative themed collections that widen reader interest
Analyse book cover design elements to recognise the reading experiences and visual messages they convey to different audiences
Demonstrate how to research contemporary publishing trends and identify titles from diverse sources that support promotional themes
Select and curate themed collections of 14-21 titles that balance accessibility, diversity and surprise to appeal to varied reader types
Apply strategies to differentiate between reader needs - from beginners to experts to curious browsers - when building themed collections
Create themed collections using both topic-based and cover-design approaches that work across physical displays, digital promotions and staff recommendations
Evaluate collections for inclusive representation and range, ensuring visual and narrative diversity across selected titles
01 Starting from themes
- Differentiating the non-fiction readership
- Understanding narrative non-fiction
- Creating a concept
- Ideas for your own themed collection
- Selecting your books
- Building in range and diversity
- Including stretch and surprise
- Using a themed collection in the library and online
02 Starting from cover designs
- Book cover trends
- Opening up a genre
- Looking for visual connections
- Targeting a reading audience
- Inspiration for a unifying idea
- Introducing diversity and adding outliers
- Collections as a tool for reader recommendations
- Making collections part of your marketing approach
How long do I have to complete the course?
You can start any time and work through the material at your own pace.
Do I get a certificate?
Yes. A certificate is issued automatically once you've completed the self-assessment.
Can my whole team take it?
Yes - bulk discounts on 10+ places. Get a team quote →
What format is the course in?
Online text with illustrated examples, interactive exercises, audio and practical exercises you complete in your own library.
How accessible are the courses?
Self-paced with adjustable text size, width and contrast, plus an audio version with read-along text in every course. More about accessibility →
What learners say
I found the input of my mentor really useful, partly because I have not completed this 'type' of training for many years, it was interactive and autonomous, very different from the usual.
This course has made me challenge my thinking on traditional stock promotion. I am now planning displays in a different way to try and engage with a more diverse audience.
I found the encouragement to mix fiction and non-fiction within themed displays very useful. I had always felt I should keep them separate to avoid confusion but it broadens the scope of what a collection can offer and expands the appeal to help readers discover new genres. I have developed confidence to look beyond the usual book display and think about the readers I want to appeal to, and the mood and tone of what is being chosen for the collection. The mentor relationship encouraged me to pause and think more deeply about the tasks and the feedback was valuable - either by confirming I was on the right track or by highlighting something I'd overlooked or not considered.
I really benefitted from the 'building in range' part. Usually when I create a display at work it's a narrow theme. I keep a calendar of promotional days, holidays and author birthdays for displays but I usually only have a topical social media post in mind. This course and my mentor have taught me to think outside the box and curate a rich collection of books. It doesn't have to be all one author for their birthday, for example, I can look for books about them, or authors inspired by them and authors similar to them. I also appreciate the tips right at the end here about asking your staff to add a book they think fits in the display so that the display keeps being replenished. I used to hate being asked for recommendations as I only read one genre myself at the time - having a display that I might not have read much from but understood would have really helped.
£150.00
per place
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