November Display Ideas

Daylight Savings Time ends November 1st. Harvest is going strong. There is a chill in the air. This is the time of year I long to do needlework. Gather all your books about quilts and display them with a quilt, quilt blocks, strips of fabric and spools of thread. Here are ten more display, programming, and decorating ideas for November.

Horror Film Carrie Opens in Theaters (November 3, 1976)
Carrie is a horror film based on Stephen King’s 1974 best-selling first novel. It is a classic of the horror genre and is considered by many critics to be one of the best big-screen adaptations of Stephen King’s work. Prepare a display with Stephen King’s books, audiobooks, and DVDs. Add a bookmark that lists King’s books chronologically.

Dances with Wolves Debuts (November 4, 1990)
This is the 25h anniversary of the film about an American Civil War-era soldier and a group of Sioux Indians that stars Kevin Costner and also marks his directorial debut. Go through your collection and gather movies featuring Kevin Costner as an actor or a director. (Don’t forget Field of Dreams—my favorite). Make a display with film reels, popcorn boxes, and movie tickets or hold a Kevin Costner film marathon. Maybe you could offer a prize to the patron that watches the most Costner movies during the month of November.

Willa Cather Writing for the Nebraska State Journal (November 5, 1893)
On this day, columns by the 20-year-old Willa Cather began appearing in the Nebraska State Journal. This is an opportunity to display your books written by Willa Cather and those about the Nebraska prairie.

Margaret Mitchell’s Birthday (November 8, 1900)
Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind, was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Her book became the biggest American publishing sensation of its day. The book sold 1 million copies in its first six months in print, 8 million by the time Mitchell died in 1949, and at least 25 million more to date. Place a sign in the stacks to draw attention to Mitchell’s book.

Stieg Larsson Dies at 50 (November 9, 2004)
Swedish writer Stieg Larsson died suddenly of a heart attack at age 50, only months after turning in the manuscripts for three crime thrillers—The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire and The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest—which would become international best-sellers, and would be known collectively as the Millennium trilogy. Larsson never lived to see his books’ success. He died without a will, setting off a legal battle for the rights to his work. His long-time partner has Larsson’s laptop which contains several hundred pages of a fourth—and potentially valuable—Millennium novel. Display a poster along with these three titles on the circulation desk on November 9.

Veterans Day (November 11)
Formerly called Armistice Day and proclaimed each year since 1926. This holiday celebrates that at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month fighting ceased in World War I. Display books about military history to commemorate this day.

William Steig’s Birthday (November 14, 1907)
Prolific cartoonist, satirist and illustrator, William Steig was born at Brooklyn, NY. He wrote more than 25 books for children. He won the Caldecott Medal in 1970 for Sylvester and the Magic Pebble and received two Newbery Honors for Abel’s Island and Dr. De Soto. Encourage your young patrons to check out Steig’s books by displaying them with a sign about his birth date in the children’s area.

National Game and Puzzle Week (November 22-28)
Held during the week of Thanksgiving each year, National Game and Puzzle Week encourages family and friends to spend time together. Set out your jigsaw puzzles and board games. Consider lending them to families that come in. Schedule a board game night during this week.

Marc Brown’s Birthday (November 25, 1946)
Everybody loves Arthur! The creator of this series, Marc Brown, was born and grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania. Arrange a display of Arthur books and activity sheets from http://marcbrownstudios.com/arthur/activities/.

Thanksgiving (November 26, 2015)
Decorate the library for the whole month. Fall-colored leaves, pumpkins, cornstalks, turkeys, and cornucopias. Find all your holiday books, audiobooks, movies, and kits related to Thanksgiving and make a multi-level, multi-format display. Sometimes it is better to take the obvious (a.k.a. traditional) route.

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