RA for your Friday

Gonna keep today’s roundup short and sweet, friends; I know we’ve all got a lot going on with the ILS migration.

Keeping in mind that patrons can’t place holds on the new and/or high-demand titles they may be looking for right this second, this is a great time to feature older titles that deserve a second look or may even be readalikes for those newer ones. Here’s Becky Spratford on hidden gems of the backlist:

“So today, I am encouraging you to take a trip in the wayback machine and find a gem that you used to love and suggest to everyone. Revive that title. Put it out on display. Suggest it to a reader for whom it is new to them. Ask others to look for titles and authors that fit this category for them. And turn it all into a “Backlist Gems” display in your building, on your websites, and social media. Our backlist is our biggest asset. We have way more backlist books than new ones. It’s a huge investment and it is hiding literally gems. Let’s get to work.”

We’ve got May picks from Library Reads and Indie Next – go ahead and print ’em out for yer corkboard.

OverDrive’s next Big Library Read has been announced! From May 3 to May 17, patrons will have simultaneous use access the the e-book and e-audiobook of Tastes Like War, by Grace M. Cho.

And speaking of OverDrive, just a reminder that the original OverDrive app is going away May 1. Make sure your patrons know about the Libby app!

Finally, #FridayReads: Springtime is here, and I’m in the mood for romance…novels. Just finished Kit McBride Gets a Wife (come for the romance, stay for the irrepressible 14-year-old sister who sets the whole plot in motion), and am looking forward to the next book in the series next month. Happy reading!