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LEARNER STORY
Rachel Leahy
- ROLE
- Librarian
- LIBRARY
- Cork County Libraries Ireland →
- COURSE
- Creating themed collections
Rachel contributed heart and soul to the search for the right books for the right readership and the right time. Her enthusiasm for helping the library reach out into the community of readers is evident from her committed work on this course.
Her research on what a theme could offer for readers was deep and wide - and it showed in two very different collections: one built around women's resilience from the dawn of time, the other around unsettling, murky reads that expanded out from horror.
01 Diversity of voice - and of format
For one of the tasks on the course, Rachel put together a collection on the theme of women's resilience from the dawn of time. She understood how the collection would enable her to build in diversity, not just of voice but of format too. As well as fiction and biography, she included poetry, books of photographs and graphic novels - newly purchased for the service but not yet going out - giving that stock a route to readers.
Her perceptive analysis of a wide range of titles resulted in an imaginative and well-balanced collection that would draw the attention of any curious reader, female or male.
02 Letting the concept develop
For her second collection Rachel chose to focus on unsettling, murky reads, expanding out from horror as her concept developed. Rather than treating the change of direction as a setback, she recognized what it opened up: a bigger variety of genres and a wider audience focus, with covers that stayed part of a cohesive visual theme without limiting the range of topics she could select.
For my surprise pick, I chose a memoir about how nature can help when you're at your lowest. Your lowest may feel like the overall feel of this collection, murky, gloomy but this pick is to help you get up and out.
03 Displays that keep replenishing themselves
During the course Rachel created a variety of adaptable resources and ideas to engage readers in the library, as well as material for making new social media connections. Her display work usually starts from a narrow theme or a specific social media post; the course's 'building in range' section taught her to think outside the box and curate a rich collection of books instead.
A tip from the end of the course stuck with her: ask your staff to add a book they think fits the display, so the display keeps being replenished.
I really benefitted from the 'building in range' part. Usually when I create a display at work it's a narrow theme or a specific social media post. This course and my mentor have taught me to think outside the box and curate a rich collection of books. I enjoyed the discussion with my mentor so much. I found it very helpful to have another pair of eyes to spot things in a display. My mentor suggested books I haven't heard of but fit perfectly - I actually went on to read one with my book club.
