October Display Ideas

October ushers in the harvest. It is also the time that my family makes our annual trek to the pumpkin patch. Gather picture books, both fiction and nonfiction, which have pumpkins in the title or pictured on the front. Display them with hay bales, dried cornstalks, and, of course, pumpkins. Here are ten more display ideas for October.

Global Diversity Awareness Month
October is a time set aside for celebrating, promoting, and appreciating the global diversity of our society. Display books about other countries as well as materials featuring people from around the world. Add a globe or a world map to attract attention.

Intergeneration Month
Promote the connection of generations through communication, celebration and education. Plan and hold an intergenerational event such as a Board Game Day. Invite middle school students to play games with people from the Senior Center. Provide a variety of games and decks of cards. Display books about games with your poster advertising this family-centered event.

National Popcorn Poppin’ Month
For more than 30 years, people have celebrated the wholesome, economical, natural food value of popcorn in October. Few can resist the smell of freshly popped corn. Display a sign on the circulation desk advertising free popcorn each Wednesday (or any day) of October. Go to http://www.popcorn.org/ for recipes to print for your patrons and they are sure to linger in the library with their bag of popcorn.

National Reading Group Month
This is a month for reading group members to celebrate the joy of shared reading and to inspire individuals who do not belong to a reading group to join one or start their own. The Nebraska Library Commission provides a webpage of Book Group Resources found at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookgroupresources.aspx. Book club kits may be borrowed from either the Commission or your Regional Library System. See the CPLS Book Club Kits at http://libraries.ne.gov/cpls/book-sets/.

World Smile Day (October 2, 2015)
A day dedicated to good works and good cheer throughout the world. The official theme for the day is “Do an act of kindness. Help one person smile.” The symbol for the day is the world-famous “smiley face” icon, created in 1963 by Harvey Ball of Worcester, MA. This icon is now the international symbol of happiness and goodwill. Put a sign on the circulation desk on Friday, October 2, and give away smiley stickers to everyone who checks out that day. Waive a fine, find a book, offer a bit of chocolate. Do simple things to make people smile.

James Herriot’s Birthday (October 3, 1916)
James Herriot, author and veterinarian, was born James Alfred Wight at Glasgow, Scotland. He wrote more than 12 books chronicling his life as a veterinarian in northern England. His All Creatures Great and Small was made into a TV series that was an international hit. He was made a member of the Order of the British Empire in 1979. Herriot died February 23, 1995, at Yorkshire, England. Place a sign in the stacks near his books and display them face out.

Fire Prevention Week (October 4-10, 2015)
Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of October 8-9, 1871. It killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. Since 1922, this observance has been scheduled for the Sunday through Saturday in which October 9 falls. Did you know that roughly half of home fire deaths result from fires reported between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., when most people are asleep? This year’s theme is Hear the Beep Where You Sleep. Set up a display in the children’s area with smoke alarms and books about firemen and fire prevention. Invite a local fireman to attend story time. Go to http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/fire-prevention-week for short videos and activity sheets. Ask your hardware store to donate a fire alarm or two to give away during this week. Make sure that everyone in your town knows that every bedroom needs a working smoke alarm.

R. L. Stine’s Birthday (October 8, 1943)
It seems only fitting that the author of the “Goosebumps” series was born in October. Display his spooky books with a bookmark listing his titles and a sign about his birthday.

Teen Read Week (October 18-24, 2015)
Teen Read Week is a national adolescent literacy initiative created by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). It began in 1998 and is held annually during the third week of October. Its purpose is to encourage teens to be regular readers and library users. This year’s theme, Get Away @ your library, is designed to encourage libraries to help teens escape from the day to day grind of school, homework, family responsibilities, part-time jobs and so on by picking up something to read. Go to the official website for planning ideas and products that support the theme: http://teenreadweek.ning.com/.

Halloween (October 31)
Draw a spider web on a black background with either chalk or a silver Sharpie. Add the title “Get Caught Up in a Good Book” along with a big spider and book jackets for some of your new material.

Find even more display ideas on my Pinterest page!

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