Thinking Like a Business: Merchandising

A public library is not a business (which is one of the many reasons I like working here!) but we can be more successful in our non-profit mission by learning some lessons from the for-profit world.  The value of merchandising – that is, designing the physical environment to encourage sales (or in our case, circulation) is one such lesson that was emphasized in a recent MLA/DLA conference program.  Sharon Lauchner, the Library Collections Manager in Frederick County, had lots of great ideas, not to mention very contagious energy and enthusiasm.  Her slides, notes, and handouts are at http://lanyrd.com/2014/mladla14/scydck/.  I’ll just hit a few highlights here.

     Displays don’t always need a rotating theme.  A permanent “power wall” of appealing non-fiction books can be a big draw, boosting their visibility and circulation.  Sharon’s example shows a small library that put their entire non-fiction collection on one big wall, with face out displays above and regular shelving below.  In a larger library, this could be done for just a portion of the collection, say cookbooks, or health and wellness.  One big advantage to having display and regular shelving together this way is that when the face-out display books are taken, replacements are right there, ready to fill in with.

     Mixing media can boost circ.  Why not have non-fiction DVDs shelved with or near the non-fiction books?

     Have some of the good stuff in the back.  Supermarkets keep the milk in the far back corner to encourage people to walk through the whole store, where they can be tempted by impulse items.  Likewise, we could have some popular part of the collection (Maybe the hold pickup shelves?  Or the new books?) located further into the building, so people will pass by other appealing items on the way, and maybe do some impulse checking out.

     Speaking of impulse items – why not keep some of these types of books right at the checkout desk, like the candy in the supermarket?  Maybe how-to or self-help books?  Celebrity bios?  Romances?

     We can promote e-content in areas with print content: posters for Zinio in the magazine section; a bookmark or poster for Overdrive in the fiction area.

     When all the copies of a big blockbuster are absent from the new books shelves, you could put a small poster or bookmark display in their place with read-alike suggestions.  In other words – “Sorry we’re all out of Such-and-such by Nora Roberts – see the info desk to request a copy.  And meanwhile, have you tried these other authors?”

     Kids’ picture books can be displayed in face-out bins, like LPs in a record store.  (For my colleagues under 30, LPs are an antique form of music storage from before you were born.)  Storing the picture books this way does make more work for shelvers, but Sharon reports that kids love browsing in such bins.

     So – those are just some of Sharon’s great ideas.  Contact me, or see her notes and handouts, for more! 

Bill T. - Tech. Services - WMRL / WCFL