by Karen Batchelor, Oxfordshire Libraries
Feast on Fiction collections have been working successfully in Oxfordshire since March 1997. We wanted to provide smaller libraries with regularly updated collections of paperback fiction, creating maximum impact for minimum effort.
The collections operate in 33 of our libraries. In March, each one receives a set of 40 brand new paperback titles. Each set circulates around 3 libraries, staying for 4 months in each. At the end of the circulation period all the books are returned to the library headquarters.
The collections are a mixture of popular genres, but also include some titles that tend to get lost in a main sequence, such as first novels and works in translation. We buy titles throughout the year at our regular book selection panel meetings, in multiples of up to 5 copies. In this way, the stock is ready for making up into new collections in February. We take care that there are no duplicate titles within each rotation group.
Each book has a Feast on Fiction sticker on the front cover, with its collection number written in the centre. This makes the books easily identifiable. We display the books on shelves or a table using special display boxes. The emphasis is on face-on display so that Feast on Fiction stands out from the rest of the library's stock.
In order to keep the collections looking fresh and in good condition, we ask staff to return tatty titles. We replace these immediately to maintain numbers. Similarly, if a library has fewer than 20 titles to pass on, we can make extra titles available.
Feast on Fiction titles do not appear on the catalogue and so cannot be requested. They do not need to be transferred to the next location - simply packed up and sent to the next library in July and November of each year. Notices can be displayed with each new collection to alert readers that a new selection of titles has arrived.
When titles have completed their rota, we offer those that are still shelfworthy to larger libraries for their stock. There is the opportunity to choose multiple copies of specific titles to create displays with a higher impact.
We have found Feast on Fiction to be very popular with both readers and staff. Many readers make straight for Feast on Fiction! It is easy to operate, with a minimum of administration and is an economical use of stock. Smaller libraries are receiving a wider range of titles than they did in the past, and through branding and high profile displays we have been able to open up reading choices.
For further details on this project, contact [email protected]
